Title: Political Violence and Gender in Times of Transition
Abstract: At heart of transitional justice discourse is an ongoing conversation about accountability for human rights violations that occur a context of regime repression or violent That accountability dialogue has generally been preoccupied with attempts to define forms of violence that should be addressed by various formal and informal mechanisms, such as trials and other truth-seeking processes. This Article will examine multiple ways which transitional justice processes have conceptualized violence, and how that maps onto a gendered understanding of violence experiences and accountability mechanisms a transitional context. In general, greater scrutiny of neutrality of transitional project has led to a more critical appraisal of gendered aspects of transition. (1) The premise of this inquiry is that accepted discourses transitional societies surrounding nature and form of violence, as well as legal accounting for such violence, has been deeply gendered. Specific to this inquiry is characterization of certain kinds of violent action as linked to conflict and/or repressive regime, and exclusion of other forms of violence from within definitional boundary. Defining violence often becomes a contest between opposing factions as to whose acts of violence are to be defined as political (and thus justifiable) and whose are not (and remain subject to ordinary criminal sanction). Further, underpinning this approach is understanding that peace processes and processes of change which prompt or underlie transitional moment(s) are profoundly gendered. For example, while women have often been at forefront of peace initiatives throughout a conflict, men predominantly, if not exclusively, negotiate peace agreements. (2) The conduct of violence and war is predominantly male, leading to a male bias negotiations. (3) This continues today, despite Platform for Action that emerged from Fourth World Conference on Women Beijing 1995, which asserted that, in addressing armed or other conflicts, an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes should be promoted so that before decisions are taken an analysis is made of effects on women and men, respectively. (4) The Beijing Platform approach has been confirmed by highly visible U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, which urges [U.N.] Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels ... for prevention, management and resolution of conflict. (5) Its requirements are framed by acknowledgement that women play an important role the prevention and resolution of conflict and peace-building, and that women and children constitute vast majority of those affected by armed conflict. (6) This Article reviews relationship between legal and aspects of violence from starting point that gendered nature of transition is positively correlated to violent masculinities that dominate times of Hence, forms of accountability sought post-conflict/post-regime environment reflect gender biases that manifest prior context. This Article broadly argues that these biases are problematic as a matter of equality and accountability. They result an accountability approach that stops short of naming certain forms of violence as violations. (7) The effect of this approach is pronounced for women; violence experienced by women is generally deemed irrelevant to or outside frame of accountability for many post-conflict and post-regime societies. (8) Moreover, Article asserts that, when violence is understood specific and narrow ways, it affects broader understandings of which concerns become issues for negotiation and mediation purposes. …
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-09-22
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 41
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