This handbook aims to bring together and share knowledge and experience from NATO, Partner and Allied armed forces on prevention of misconduct and the handling and monitoring of complaints within armed forces, with particular regard to gender. It provides resources for:
- establishing a safe and non-discriminatory environment for men and women in the armed forces;
- dealing with instances and complaints of gender-related discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse in the armed forces;
- monitoring and overseeing the handling of instances and complaints of gender-related discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse in the armed forces.
This handbook is written for:
- Military commanders and leaders who have day-to-day responsibility for ensuring that the personnel under their care are protected from mistreatment.
- Complaint managers and human resources personnel within armed forces.
- Ministries of defence, which develop and oversee the implementation of policies concerning gender, female personnel and complaints.
- Ombuds institutions for the armed forces.
- National human rights institutions (NHRIs) with a mandate to receive and investigate complaints from within or relating to armed forces.
- Regional and international organizations that support defence institution building and good governance within armed forces in transition and post-conflict states.
- Civil society organizations, military staff associations, unions, veterans’ associations and the media, which play a role in monitoring how the armed forces handle gender issues.
- Academics and others engaged in promoting gender equality, human rights and good governance in the armed forces.
This handbook draws upon a number of sources of information. A great deal of material was gathered from academic sources, and from published reports and policies of armed forces, ombuds institutions and NHRIs. A draft of the handbook was reviewed and extensively discussed at a NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme Advanced Research Workshop in April 2015, which brought together 50 experts from 32 countries.
The structure of the handbook was designed, firstly, to show how applying a ‘gender perspective’ to complaints within armed forces illuminates how culturally embedded ways of doing things often directly and indirectly discriminate against female personnel, as well as some groups of male personnel. Secondly, the handbook explores how the mutually complementary aspects of a complaints system – prevention of misconduct, response and monitoring – can be sensitive to gender, and can support the full participation of women in armed forces. It is divided as follows.
- Introduction
- Applying a gender perspective to complaints mechanisms
- Leadership on gender equality
- Preventing gender-related discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse
- Encouraging reporting of and responding to gender-related complaints
- Monitoring and learning from gender-related complaints
- Additional resources on gender and complaints
In each of the sections on prevention of misconduct and response to and monitoring of gender-related complaints, principles of good practice are complemented by short case studies.
