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In this Issue:

• Tackling gender inequality for long-term peace

• Gender in Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission

• Promoting women’s human rights in the midst of conflict in Palestine

A gender analysis of armed conflict and its aftermath reveals distinct types of hidden disadvantage that worsen gender relations. Given that gender inequality pre-dates conflict, it is disproportionately women’s disadvantage that is hidden. But this does not mean that men are always the winners. The need to recognise women’s experiences and address the impact on gender relations led to the establishment of the Gender Programme of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru (CVR). The CVR’s activities promoted gender equality as central to preventing future outbreaks of violence. The Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) in Palestine also works to recognise the contribution of women and the importance of gender equality as essential to the resolution of conflict and the establishment of peace in the occupied territories.

This woman’s story is one of many tragic, and sadly familiar, stories of people’s experiences of armed conflict. But this story, like many others, masks the hidden complexity of how women and men suffer the impacts of armed conflict in distinct ways. Conventional, gender-blind understandings of war and its aftermath overlook the causes and consequences of gender-specific disadvantage and how these impact on gender relations. Given that gender inequality persists and is often exacerbated by conflict, it is predominantly the disadvantage faced by women that remains hidden.

Mainstream interpretations of what happens during armed conflict are limited by misperceptions that men are only soldiers or aggressors, and women are only on the ‘home front’ and victims in their roles as wives, mothers, nurses, social workers and sex-workers. But women are also breadwinners, activists and, as Kokila’s narrative below highlights, combatants.

The fact that gender inequality persists does not mean that men are always the winners. As Sabina’s narrative demonstrates, where men are aggressors, they may also victimise other men through torture and violence.

There is clearly insufficient recognition of the diverse roles and needs that arise out of conflict for both women and men, and the consequences this has for gender relations.

‘In the amputee camp Fina Kamara … weed[s] her sweet potato patch, one of the few amputees who is determined to use her artificial hand’. Freetown, Sierra Leone, 23 October 1999 © Jenny Matthews (Matthews 2003: 151).

A deliberate strategy of war
The impacts of armed conflict are often viewed as inevitable outcomes of war. However, forced displacement and gender-based violence (GBV) are not unavoidable consequences but deliberate strategies of war that destabilise families and communities. This strategy was used to great effect in Kosovo, where, according to Human Rights Watch (2000), ‘the mere threat [of rape] was enough to force women and families to flee’.

Incidences against women of rape and forced pregnancy, forced sex work and sexual slavery occur more frequently in the midst of armed conflict than in pre- or non-conflict periods. Even more alarmingly, the perpetrators are frequently ‘peacekeepers’, police or occupying forces, as was the case in Bosnia. Men are undeniably the primary perpetrators of violence, but may themselves be victims of GBV, such as rape, torture or imprisonment, if they resist violence or conscription.

What about international law?
Despite the existence of over a dozen international laws and commitments, many states, international institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) simply ignore gender concerns, or attempt to work with women in limited or stereotypical ways. Where international institutions use the term ‘gender’ – as the United Nations (UN) does in Security Council Resolution 1325 – they often suggest the needs of women (and girls) are ‘special’ cases that fall outside of mainstream analyses. Although the diversion of resources to women (and girls) is no doubt a step forward, these ‘special’ commitments are limited because concerns about female disadvantage are isolated from the wider issue of power imbalance in gender relations.

A further concern is that despite the existence of these laws and commitments, many states and organisations do not recognise forced displacement and GBV as human rights violations. The tendency to treat these as cultural or private issues that are very complicated and therefore best left alone has made it difficult for international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as Oxfam, to tackle gendered concerns. The unwillingness to recognise that human rights violations are occurring, coupled with poor enforcement of existing laws, blocks any real progress towards gender equality.

Gender-sensitive interventions and positive change
Humanitarian assistance, disarmament demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes for ex-combatants and other interventions can exacerbate gender inequality if they are administered in gender-blind ways. Experience from Bosnia-Herzegovina also suggests states and international NGOs often overlook the potential contribution of local NGOs, particularly women’s groups, in ensuring that programmes are appropriate for the economic, political, social, cultural and religious context.

In fact, the upheaval of armed conflict can create an opportunity at the national or regional level to establish more gender-sensitive post-conflict political and legal structures. The establishment of government bodies such as the Ministry of Gender and Women in Development (MIGEPROFE) in Rwanda and the Gender Affairs Unit in East Timor has ensured gender concerns are incorporated into all post-conflict political and legal institutions. In the case of Rwanda, increased female representation and involvement was legislated for in the gacaca, or village-level courts. In East Timor, a Vulnerable People’s Unit staffed by women was set up in the capital Dili by the UN’s civilian police to handle cases of GBV, with district units across the country.

Where to go from here?
It is clear that gender concerns must be mainstreamed into all the structures that govern armed conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. Improved implementation and enforcement of existing international laws, such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325, by states and international institutions would offer increased protection, particularly for women, against human rights abuses. There must also be recognition that impacts such as forced displacement and GBV are violations of human rights and not private or cultural concerns and unavoidable outcomes of war.

Interventions by states and international NGOs wishing to address the impacts of war must involve local organisations – including women’s groups – in decision-making roles. In turn, outreach and support for families and communities dealing with the trauma of conflict should reflect the priorities of local populations. Increased funding for such specialised, localised services is urgently needed. Services for women must include counselling and outreach to manage gynaecological/reproductive health concerns related to rape, forced pregnancy and sex work. Similarly, localised health and counselling services should be made available for men who move away from masculine, stereotypical gender roles by resisting violence and combat and, as a result, become victims of physical and sexual violence.

Training in identifying and addressing local gendered concerns is crucial for everyone involved, including women, in post-conflict reconstruction. Peacekeepers in particular need gender training to establish trust with local communities. There is also a need for improved reporting and policing mechanisms to address both the threat and the occurrence of GBV associated with all those charged with protecting post-conflict areas.

All the actors involved in conflict and post-conflict reconstruction must work together to address the gender-specific disadvantage that arises from war and its aftermath. Without cooperation between all the women and men involved, from the community council through to the peace table, there can be no real, meaningful or sustainable peace.

Lata Narayanaswamy, BRIDGE (based on El Jack, A., 2003, 'Gender and Armed Conflict: Overview Report', BRIDGE Cutting Edge Pack, Brighton: BRIDGE/Institute of Development Studies)

	‘Overwhelmed to find that in a country of so much fear, with gratuitous violence always a possibility, thousands of people come out onto the street to celebrate May Day … A mix of [many groups including] a very vocal group of women protesting loudly against domestic violence. A pity that tear gas brings it all to an end’.
Bogota, Colombia, May Day 1990 © Jenny Matthews (Matthews 2003: 35)

Between 1980 and 2000, Peru experienced a tragic internal armed conflict. During that period, clashes between State forces and insurgency groups resulted in the violation of the human rights of thousands of people. In the aftermath of conflict in 2001, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Peru (La Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación en Peru or CVR) was established to investigate these violations. This body set out to clarify the facts and identify those responsible, as well as propose initiatives to affirm peace and harmony among Peruvians.

The CVR was charged with analysing the general political, social and cultural conditions that contributed to the violent events in the country and formulating proposals to help victims and their families regain their dignity and redress the injustice. The Commission was permitted to interview and gather information on any individual or institution, as well as carry out visits, inspections and public hearings. It was also given scope to recommend institutional, legal and educational reforms that would help prevent large-scale internal conflict in the future. The results of the Commission’s investigation were published in a Final Report in August 2003.

The incorporation of a gender perspective into the investigations of the CVR has formed an essential part of the work. It discredits the gender-blind belief that the human rights of women and men are violated in similar ways with similar consequences.

When the work began, the need for a gendered approach became clear. The analysis of the testimonies in the Public Hearings of the CVR confirms that while men were able to recount what happened to them, women remembered their husbands’ and children’s stories with greater accuracy and clarity than their own. Taught from an early age to prioritise caring for the family, women were unaccustomed to telling their side of the story – unable even to identify violations of their rights. Indeed, the demands for justice were the loudest from women clamouring for support and help for their children and husbands.

Women had, however, experienced increased physical and sexual violence, and suffered distinct consequences such as forced pregnancy and sexual mutilation. Women also had to cope with the shift in gender relations that resulted as men – whose more public, visible roles left them open to persecution – disappeared and/or became victims in mass executions. In their absence, the survival of the family became dependent on women and women began to take on functions in the public sphere.

Recognising the importance of documenting women’s experiences, the CVR decided to establish the Gender Programme (la Línea de Género). Its fundamental objective was to raise awareness of gender issues in the work of the Commission’s interviewers and the rest of its officials, in order to ensure a gender perspective would be present across all its work.

The Gender Programme developed a series of training documents that included communication strategies, suggestions for how to run investigations in the country’s provinces and guidelines for the interviewers. It also created Gender Programme Links, a working group made up of representatives from each of the CVR’s regional headquarters. The role of these representatives was to work actively in the community to ensure information on gender concerns was being shared where appropriate. As well, the Programme participated in a series of workshops aimed at promoting gender analysis in a number of CVR areas such as communications, disappeared persons and volunteering. The Programme also provided educational materials such as flyers and cartoons.

Ensuring the incorporation of gender-sensitive approaches enabled the CVR to address the changes in gender relations resulting from the internal armed conflict in Peru. The recommendations of the CVR emphasise that gendered concerns must be taken into account if future human rights violations are to be prevented.

The CVR had an important mission: to discover the truth. But without women’s truth, the truth can never be complete.

JULISSA MANTILLA, Gender Programme, Legal Division of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru (CVR)

Julissa Mantilla is a lawyer specialising in human rights and gender. She was responsible for the Gender Programme and a member of the Legal Division of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru (CVR). This article reflects the personal point of view of the author. It does not represent the official opinion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru.

Please note that the CVR has completed its work. The author of this article may be contacted at:
Julissa Mantilla
Calle Puerto Rico 149, Jesús María, Lima 11, Peru
Tel: +511 9791 0183
email: lissa2010@yahoo.com
website: www.cverdad.org.pe

The Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) is an independent Palestinian organisation that aims to contribute to the establishment of a democratic Palestinian society based on social justice and gender equality. Since it was set up in 1991, the organisation has been working to shape a Palestinian feminist legal and human rights framework in conjunction with other human rights and women’s organisations. This is a considerable challenge given the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. As Palestinian women are aware, the armed conflict is dominated by men and military ideologies that work against women’s rights.

Although military action is largely experienced in public, the effects of the violence also appear in the private sphere. WCLAC has noted increased tension and reduced communication among family members due to the stress and depression experienced during the crisis. This is particularly the case amongst men who feel helpless because they are unable to protect their homes, families and communities from the occupation. This has resulted in a corresponding increase in incest, family violence and gender-based violence (GBV). Women are less likely than men to take out their frustrations on other family members because they tend to draw more on social support networks and are often more willing to talk about and share the burden of the problems they face.

WCLAC tries to address such problems and support Palestinian women through guidance and counselling services, as well as social and legal aid for women who encounter psychological, verbal, physical or sexual violence and abuse. We break the silence about GBV and encourage research and documentation of women’s rights violations.

WCLAC also challenges Palestinian Authority legislation that discriminates against women. We have succeeded in raising the level of debate on family law and have had direct input into health law and criminal law. We lobby the Palestinian Authority to adopt international conventions and agreements such as The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to incorporate these principles into Palestinian laws.

Since the Palestinian Authority does not have state status, it is not eligible to ratify CEDAW, but both governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the occupied territories have taken the initiative on reporting to the United Nations CEDAW Committee that monitors implementation of the Convention. In 1999, we conducted a training workshop for senior female and male representatives from a wide range of Palestinian government organisations and NGOs on how to write reports for CEDAW. The workshop culminated in a report on the situation of Palestinian women, which was jointly written by the different organisations and published in Arabic.

Both religious and non-religious forces have challenged these kinds of initiatives. The questions have arisen: How can WCLAC promote women’s rights within Palestinian society while the rights of the whole society are being systematically violated? How can WCLAC justify work for feminist social change in circumstances where people still need to secure their basic needs?

WCLAC addresses these questions in two ways. Firstly, it ensures its work is decentralised, practical and relevant to the daily lives of women and men under the occupation. Ten committees on rights have been set up locally in Jenin and Qalqylia and are supported by WCLAC. We have also trained 32 local trainers on women’s rights. Secondly, through the media and educational programmes, we promote a new understanding of ‘patriotic acts’ as including the activities women perform in private as well as public, such as caring for their families, lobbying for women’s rights and fighting violence against women. Women’s private and public activities represent important acts of resistance to an occupation that undermines the social infrastructure of Palestinian society.

SORAIDA ABED HUSSEIN, Head of Legal Literacy and Training Unit, The Palestinian Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)

For more information contact:
Soraida Abed Hussein
Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
Al Dahya Intersection
Al Hirbawi Building, Third Floor
P.O. Box 54262, Jerusalem 91516 via Israel
Tel: +972 (2) 2347438
Fax: +972 (2) 2342172
email: soraida@wclac.org
website: www.wclac.org

BRIDGE, 2003, Gender and Armed Conflict, BRIDGE Cutting Edge Pack, Brighton: BRIDGE/Institute of Development Studies, www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/reports_gend_CEP.html

Bennett, O., Bexley, J. and Warnock, K., 1995, ‘Introduction’, in O. Bennett, J. Bexley and K. Warnock (eds), Arms to Fight, Arms to Protect: Women Speak Out About Conflict, London: Panos Publications

Byrne, B., 1996, ‘Gender, Conflict and Development’, Volume I: Overview, BRIDGE Report 34, Brighton: BRIDGE/Institute of Development Studies, www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/Reports/re34c.pdf

Byrne, B., Marcus, R. and Powers-Stevens, T., 1995, ‘Gender, Conflict and Development, Volume 2: Case Studies: Cambodia, Rwanda, Kosova, Somalia, Algeria, Guatemala and Eritrea’, BRIDGE Report 35, Brighton: BRIDGE/Institute of Development Studies, www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/Reports/re35c.pdf

Equipo de Género de la Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (CVR), 2002, Guía de Capacitación en Género [Gender Training Guide], Lima: CVR, www.siyanda.org/docs/peru_guia.doc (available in Spanish)

Khan, A., 2003, ‘Song of War’, in A. Joseph and K. Sharma (eds), Terror, Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out, London: Zed Books

Matthews, J., 2003, Women and War, London: Pluto Press

Siniora, R., with Al-Haq, 1999, Demanding Our Rights: A Guide to Lobbying in Palestine, Jerusalem: Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)

United Nations, 2002, Women, Peace and Security, Geneva: United Nations,
www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/eWPS.pdf

United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), 2002, Report of the Learning Oriented Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming and Women’s Empowerment Strategies in Rwanda, New York: UNIFEM, www.unifem.undp.org/governance/Final_Rwanda_Report_En.pdf

Vandenberg, M., 2000, Kosovo: Rape as a Weapon of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’, New York: Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org/reports/2000/fry/index.htm

Please note, all internet addresses provided above were current as of August 2003.

Useful websites:
Siyanda – www.siyanda.org (search using the term ‘conflict’)
PeaceWomen – www.peacewomen.org
Women Peace-Building (hosted by International Alert) – www.womenbuildingpeace.org
Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) – www.isis.or.ug

• an Overview Report outlining the main issues, examples of good practice and recommendations
• a Supporting Resources Collection including contact details of relevant organisations and summaries of key texts, case studies, tools, and online resources.

The Cutting Edge Pack is available in English, French and Spanish.
For this and other Cutting Edge Packs, visit the Cutting Edge Pack web page

Editor: Lata Narayanaswamy
Thanks to BRIDGE colleagues Susie Jolly, Hazel Reeves and Charlie Sever for their editorial support; to Emily Hayes for copy-editing; and Laura E Asturias for translating the article on the CVR from Spanish to English.

© Photos by Jenny Matthews. Jenny Matthews is a documentary photographer working with Network Photographers. Since 1982, she has been working on a world wide project looking at Women and War. Many of these photos featured in her book Women and War, published by Pluto Press in 2003, and were also part of a photo exhibition in London, UK, co-sponsored by ActionAid on the same theme.

BRIDGE supports the gender-mainstreaming efforts of policymakers and practitioners by bridging the gaps between theory, policy and practice with accessible and diverse gender information. It is a specialised gender and development research and information service based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the United Kingdom. BRIDGE is grateful for the financial support of the following organisations: the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Department for International Development, UK (DFID), the New Zealand Agency for International Development, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

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