Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity as a part of the Women, Peace and Security Project (original) (raw)
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Queering women, peace and security
In all regions, people experience violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In many cases, even the perception of homosexuality or trans-gender identity puts people at risk. 1 After 15 years of advocacy and policy action related to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) architecture, 2 the continued silence about homophobic and trans-phobic violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in conflict-related environments is alarming. Those vulnerable to insecurity and violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity remain largely neglected by the international peace and security community. This neglect is in part the result of heteronormative assumptions in the framing of the WPS agenda. The goal of this article is not only to point out this silence but also to propose ways in which a queer security analysis can address and redress these silences in policy through paying attention to the damaging role heteronorma-tivity and cisprivilege play in sustaining the current gap in analysis of gendered violence. 3 A queer theory analysis reveals a wide spectrum of identities that do not fit neatly into a binary conception of gender restricted to exclusive categories of male/female or man/woman. This article reviews the policy implications of excluding sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against LGBTQ individuals from policy implementation and NGO monitoring of the WPS agenda. Because LGBTQ individuals are under constant threat in many places, viewing the shifts in insecurity for this population in conflict-related environments through a gender lens offers a significant contribution to how policy-makers understand human security more broadly. Understanding what drives violence against individuals marginalized for their sexual orientation and gender identity will also shed light on the larger question of how SGBV operates in conflict
LGBTQ Perspectives in Peacebuilding
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, 2021
Feminist scholars have long touted the necessity of employing a gender lens to better understand power and violence in global politics. Sexuality is an important dimension of these gendered power dynamics. LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) perspectives in peacebuilding unsettle the assumptions about what is the “correct” or “normal” sexual orientation, gender identity, or family structure. Drawing on a multiplicity of LGBTQ voices to inform post-conflict responses allows for a more expansive approach to understanding what gendered insecurities look like and how best to respond to them. Centering LGBTQ communities in responses to conflictrelated violence is also important when working to develop peacebuilding processes that move beyond the heteronormative patriarchal power dynamics that have historically resulted in violent conflict. LGBTQ perspectives in peacebuilding introduce voices generally marginalized or left out entirely.
Minimizing protection gaps for LGBTQ people living in conflict
2021
In June of 2021 the United Nation’s Independent Expert (IE) on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity published a report about thematic work on gender theory as it relates to the IE’s mandate. This policy brief answers some of the key questions raised by the IE’s gender theory research, with a focus on LGBTQ people’s experiences living in conflict.
Call for Papers - Queer Peacebuilding
Revista de Estudios Sociales
This proposed special issue explores what “queering” means in the context of peacebuilding. The issue addresses an unexamined gap in peacebuilding efforts to achieve gender justice and inclusive security in conflict-affected societies, namely the unique experiences of LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) individuals and their collective efforts to achieve social justice in contexts of sociopolitical violence. Although there is now over two decades of work to include attention to gender in peacebuilding efforts, little of this work focuses specifically on queer perspectives. This special issue will document and analyze the practices and impacts of queer inclusion efforts, as well as how these translate in meaningful ways and for future peacebuilding efforts. Its contribution will inform better practice for local and international actors working to include attention to LGBTIQ individuals in peace, security, and social justice agendas as informed by the Colombian and other contexts. The issue also seeks to complicate existing understandings of the inclusion or invisibility of gender and sexual diversity in political transitions, revealing previously unexplored dynamics of queering peace and security.
“Legal protection of LGBT+ persons in war and armed conflict”, 2024
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) provides special protection to vulnerable groups like women, children, and the elderly during armed conflicts. However, LGBT+ persons have faced targeted persecution and specific vulnerabilities during conflict in the past. IHL on the other hand lacks explicit safeguards based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). Despite the evidence of targeted violence and discrimination, IHL does not explicitly address these vulnerabilities. This leaves LGBT+ individuals excluded from legal protections and response services. Incidents of discrimination based on SOGIESC violate the non-discrimination principle in International Human Rights Law. The absence of recognition of LGBT+ people as a vulnerable groups in IHL has also implications for humanitarian measures. It is the aim of the present research to identify potential gaps in IHL when it comes to the protection of LGBT+ people during armed conflicts. This will be done by analysing the international legal framework as well as examine a number of past and present conflicts observed vulnerabilities of LGBT+ communities. Recent attention from organizations like the ICRC and scholars like Alon Margalit and Victor Madrigal-Borloz , along with initiatives from countries like Germany, Norway, and Sweden, highlights the issue. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research on the imperative need for SOGIESC protection in IHL. The gaps and limitations identified within IHL and IHRL through the following research aim to highlight the question on how they can evolve to protect the individuals rights, regardless of SOGIESC, during IAC and NIAC. It emphasizes the importance of inclusive protection for LGBT+ rights in armed conflicts and underscores the necessity of adapting international legal frameworks.
Queering Women, Peace and Security: A Practice-Based Toolkit
2023
This toolkit provides a guide for how to queer Women, Peace and Security in practice through three main sections: 1) Queering the four pillars of WPS, 2) Feminist and LGBTQ collaborations, and 3) Queering WPS National Action Plans. The toolkit was developed in partnership with Colombia Diversa drawing on their work in the Colombian peace process, supporting LGBTQ individuals through transformative justice practices, and engaging in the drafting of the country’s first WPS National Action Plan in 2023.
Syllabus Gender, Security and Peace-Building
This course is at the intersection between international relations, peace studies, security studies, human rights and gender studies. It will first seek to explore the mainstream theories on security, the feminist perspectives on security, as well as feminist theorizing about international politics. We will then examine the gender dimensions of violence in the private and public spheres, both in wartime and “peacetime,” and both by state and non-state agents. We will also analyze the ways in which a conflict is gendered in each of its phases, and what the implications are in terms of security and the building of peace. We will address specific issues such as gender-based crimes, the militarization of women, national identities, and gender in conflict zones. We will also examine the international context and the evolution of peacebuilding policies since the mid-1990s. In this respect, we will analyze the United Nations responses to the violation of women’s human rights (Resolution 1325), as well as the violations of women’s human rights by the UN themselves. Finally, we will explore the feminist approaches to peacebuilding (including the origins of the “ethics of care”), the emergence and the meaning of women’s peace movements worldwide, as well as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual and Transgendered peace activism.