This report provides an overview of the knowledge base on gender-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding and statebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS). It uses systematic principles of enquiry to assess the evidence, but is not a systematic review. The assessment included a review of the most relevant sources, identifying the key trends and findings in relevant academic and grey literature.
Key findings for peacebuilding and statebuilding: political settlements and women’s political voice
- While women and gender concerns have increasingly been included in peacebuilding and statebuilding, their inclusion and presence remains marginal and uneven at every stage of these processes. In addition, more attention needs to be paid to the substance of women’s inclusion/incorporation, as women’s mere physical presence in different aspects of peacebuilding is not enough to ensure that the process is gender-responsive.
- Women’s participation in politics has increased in post-conflict settings, at least through formal mechanisms such as quotas and participation in political parties. This is closely associated with women’s social mobilisation and activism in informal political spaces at the subnational and national levels, and through transnational civil society action. Numerous challenges and barriers that hinder women’s substantive participation in post-conflict governance processes were identified. These include customary rules, negative cultural attitudes, male- and elite-dominated political parties and structures, lack of financial resources for women, violence and insecurity, the effect of backlash reactions, illiteracy and political inexperience and lack of support for capacity building, among others.
- Legacies of conflict and violence, combined with persistent gender-based structures of exclusion and discrimination, can also inhibit women’s voice in politics and public life. Research on transitional justice (TJ) has begun to address questions about its potentially transformative impact in addressing gendered experiences of conflict-related violence and structural inequalities. However, the empirical evidence remains underdeveloped. This is especially so in terms of how gender-responsive approaches might affect peacebuilding and statebuilding efforts. This is also true of most of the literature on TJ, which until recently was mostly theoretical, prescriptive and normative. Gender-responsive approaches in TJ are very recent, and thus provides little basis on which to assess their wider impact.
Key findings for statebuilding: Gender-responsive support to building core state functions and services
- Gender-sensitive reform approaches in justice and security have included addressing participation and inclusion (such as the proportion of women recruited to these sectors, or whether women’s organisations are consulted on policy), as well the establishment of protection measures and special units to address the safety and security of women and girls. There is also a growing research agenda on understanding the impact of informal security and justice systems on gender relations, and on how customary norms can be contested and redefined. Overall, the knowledge base on justice and security reform (both generally, and specifically on gender-responsive approaches) is dissociated from research on the wider political economy of statebuilding.
- In relation to service delivery, despite the numerous references to, and mechanisms by which gender-responsive service delivery can potentially contribute to, the foundations and processes of peacebuilding and statebuilding, these linkages are rarely explicit in the wider literature. A predominant focus at the micro level of service delivery shows that both gender-responsive provision and the role women play in delivering services can potentially contribute to restoring state legitimacy and strengthening social cohesion. Positive examples from the literature include approaches such as the role of education in addressing gender inequalities and reducing GBV; addressing specific gendered vulnerabilities resulting from conflict, such as GBV; strengthening and supporting women’s roles in delivering services by providing training and remuneration; sensitising service providers to develop gender-sensitive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes; flexible service delivery (e.g. mobile services) to address women’s needs; and involving women and men in the planning and delivery of services.
- Economic recovery is a vital part of sustainable peace processes and statebuilding, and, without stronger and more strategic engagement of women in these processes, societies will be unable to realise and capitalise on important dividends in the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) process. While conflict and post-conflict environments can shake up gender relations and provide opportunities for women’s economic empowerment, the evidence base suggests that the impacts of conflict and fragility are heterogeneous and can, depending on the context, either increase or diminish existing gender inequalities. Meaningful income-generating opportunities for women, including gender- and market-sensitive vocational training and support in obtaining access to productive assets, are vital preconditions for economic and broader empowerment, but so too is tackling men’s disempowerment and threats to their sense of masculinity.
