Service, sex, and security: Gendered peacekeeping economies in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

This article uses the concept of the peacekeeping economy to examine how peacekeepers – as individuals – and peacekeeping – as a complex of institutions, policy and practice – interact with, and inevitably shape, the societies in which they operate. It focuses on how peacekeeping economies are gendered, and the implications of this gendering. The article first examines three types of work characteristic of the peacekeeping economies in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – namely domestic service, sex work, and private security. The United Nation’s (UN’s) institutional responses to these sectors demonstrates the persistence of ‘traditional’ gendered ideologies in peacekeeping, in which the ‘private’, feminized sphere of the home – encompassing peacekeepers’ domestic and sexual arrangements – is marginalized, while the masculinized realm of security is prioritized and closely regulated. Furthermore, factoring in peacekeepers’ individual responses to service, sex, and security reveals a counter-narrative of the peacekeeper-as-vulnerable. This counter-narrative helps obscure the potential for exploitation of locals by peacekeepers. Yet it also upsets the subject position of both the peacekeeper and ‘the local’ in an unexpected manner, ultimately undermining the notion of the (masculine) UN protector. Such an understanding complicates popular notions of how gender ‘works’ in peacekeeping sites, and enables insights into the ramifications of peacekeeping’s (often) self-imposed limitations.

Parades, Parties and Pests: Contradictions of Everyday Life in Peacekeeping Economies

“…Many peacekeepers pursued local relationships sometimes of a transactional nature (Henry 2014;Jennings 2014). In accounts, peacekeepers tactically emphasised their loneliness and suffering, and their 'need' for intimacy.…”

The Distribution and Consequences of Sexual Misconduct by Peacekeepers in Haiti: A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Analysis

“…In this context, the influx of foreign, well-paid, and predominantly male peacekeepers magnifies the gendered economies of sex work, transactional sex, and domestic labour. Through their employment in peacekeeping economies, women and girls face an increased risk of SEA; they work in unregulated, informal, precarious, and/or illicit sectors that have no legal protection; face unequal power relations vis-à-vis the peacekeeper employer; and are financially dependent on transactions with peacekeepers to sustain their livelihoods (34). In this analysis we consider the differential effect of urban, semi-urban, and rural peacekeeping bases in relation to peacekeeping economies and risk of SEA.…”

The Distribution and Consequences of Sexual Misconduct Perpetrated by Peacekeepers in Haiti: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…Peacekeeping economies have been well studied (33)(34)(35)(36)(37) and refer to "Economic activity that either would not occur or would occur at a much lower scale and rate of pay, without the international presence, of which a UN peacekeeping mission is a central component" (38) In Haiti, socio-economic vulnerability and ubiquitous gender inequality result in a range of gendered survival strategies that disproportionately affect women and girls, such as trading sex for money, food, or security (i.e. transactional sex) (39).…”

“…In this context, the in ux of foreign, well-paid, and predominantly male peacekeepers magni es the gendered economies of sex work, transactional sex, and domestic labour. Through their employment in peacekeeping economies, women and girls face an increased risk of SEA; they work in unregulated, informal, precarious, and/or illicit sectors that have no legal protection; face unequal power relations visà-vis the peacekeeper employer; and are nancially dependent on transactions with peacekeepers to sustain their livelihoods (38). In this analysis we consider the differential effect of peacekeeping bases located in urban, semi-urban, and rural regions in relation to peacekeeping economies and risk of SEA.…”