Does the Presence of Women Really Matter? Towards Combating Male Sexual Violence in Peacekeeping Operations

Reconceptualizing Gender, Reinscribing Racial-Sexual Boundaries in International Security: The Case of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security”1

“…According to Resolution 1820, the role of peacekeepers is to “protect civilians, including women and children, and prevent sexual violence against women and girls in conflict and post‐conflict situations” (United Nations Security Council 2008, Article 8). Peacekeeping missions are, historically, “highly masculinized in nature” given that they are predominantly made up of (male) soldiers trained for combat (Whitworth 2004; Simic 2010:189). The norm of militarized masculinity dominant within peacekeeping missions has been viewed as a cause of peacekeeper violence and abuse toward those populations that they are supposed to be protecting (Whitworth 2004).…”

“…8). Several observers argue that this call is not a form of gender mainstreaming but rather a means of dealing with the problem of peacekeeper violence and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) (Vayrynen 2004; Whitworth 2004; Simic 2010; Harrington 2011; Jennings 2011), which is implicitly recognized in Resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions. Kathleen Jennings summarizes the arguments made by scholars, practitioners, and activists in favor of including more women in peacekeeping missions as: “protection” (of civilians, particularly women and children); “assistance to victims of sexual violence”; “deterring and reducing sexual violence”; “practical” (strategic tasks); “inspirational” (Jennings 2011:3–4).…”

“…Kathleen Jennings summarizes the arguments made by scholars, practitioners, and activists in favor of including more women in peacekeeping missions as: “protection” (of civilians, particularly women and children); “assistance to victims of sexual violence”; “deterring and reducing sexual violence”; “practical” (strategic tasks); “inspirational” (Jennings 2011:3–4). These arguments about female peacekeepers, like those of women as peacebuilders, are predicated upon the assumption that women have innate qualities, linked to their sex role, of being peaceful and nurturing, which make them better equipped for peacekeeping (Whitworth 2004:126; Simic 2010:190; Jennings 2011:7–8).…”

Reflections on Possibilities and Challenges of Discussing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Role-Play Simulations

“…After all, the UN has regularly reported that the presence of women working as security personnel in peacekeeping operations will improve access and support for local women (United Nations Peacekeeping, ). However, much like research that has suggested that women peacekeepers will not necessarily be more empathetic to local women's needs or concerns (Simić, ), the young woman leading the military component of this role‐play did not noticeably pay any more attention to gendered issues than previous or current male students. She, like other students, appeared at times overwhelmed by the complex realities of competing interests, limited resources and difficult coordination faced by those involved in peacekeeping, and along with her teammates in the first instance decided to ‘pass the buck’ on these issues to the NGOs, who, not having communicated with the military group on this issue, assumed the military group would handle it.…”

Peacexploitation? Interrogating Labor Hierarchies and Global Sisterhood Among Indian and Uruguayan Female Peacekeepers

“…The 30-minute film, entitled Girl Squad, provides some background to the women's training, their everyday activities, and explores some of the individual peacekeeper's experiences of being deployed to a UN mission. In both the academic and popular literature, little is known about the impact and effectiveness of such deployments, partly because gender-mainstreaming initiatives are so recent and the numbers of women in military and police postings with the UN is still relatively low (Bridges and Horsfall, 2009;Simić, 2010). Importantly, this documentary is one of the few sources of data on this unique group of peacekeepers and some of their experiences.…”