Gender and armed conflict

Abstract

This chapter examines the relationship between gender and armed conflict. It analyzes the role of gender and gender inequalities in the onset of armed conflicts. It notes that a growing body of scholarship has demonstrated a strong connection between a society’s treatment of women and the prospects for war and peace. It also considers how gender is used and manipulated during conflict, paying particular attention to the issue of conflict-related sexual violence and scholarship on conflict-related sexual violence. It concludes with an assessment of international policy responses since the early 1990s, including the advent and evolution of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. It notes that several of the pillars of the WPS agenda – prevention of violence, protection from violence, relief and recovery – have received most of the attention from international and national security policymakers. Commitments to expand women’s participation in conflict prevention, conflict mediation and conflict resolution efforts – the participation pillar – have received much less attention from international and national actors.

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