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UN-INSTRAW launched the results of “Filling the Gaps: A Virtual Discussion of Gender, Peace and Security Research” which took place in October 2008. The discussion was an opportunity for over 90 academics and researchers from universities, NGOs, research institutes and international organizations around the world to fortify existing networks and build a platform for more participatory and dynamic research.
The purpose of the three week dialogue was to
exchange information and stimulate the debate on Gender, Peace and
Security (GPS) research with the goal of identifying gaps in current
research and tools to fill them.
In particular, it aimed to assess the results of the work being done in
research on GPS issues and identify concrete strategies and mechanisms
to strengthen the impact of research on policy-making and operational
efforts.
Participants’ suggestions included increasing collaboration and
networks between academia, policy makers and activists to make peace
and security research more inclusive and its impact more visible.
“There is a real limit to how far such change can be advanced via
programmatic work in the absence of broad-based civil society
engagement”, pointed out Niamh Reilly, Senior Lecturer, National
University of Ireland.
Moreover, the specialists called for making research more
participatory, by using bottom-up approaches to address more
comprehensively the specific needs of communities in peace building
processes.
Njoki Wamai, Peace and Security Fellow at Kings College London,
commented, “Investment in training more women, more Africans, more
younger people, among others, to engage in peace and security is
important in ensuring that peace and security research is defined by
their terms and as such solutions are homegrown and sustainable.”
Participants stressed the importance of fully incorporating and
utilizing a gender perspective in traditional academic disciplines.
Furthermore, they emphasized the need to incorporate marginalized
groups in existing and future research through the consideration of
social divisions (ethnicity, race and class) that can generate further,
intersecting forms of discrimination.
“Research is the core tool in order to create, foster and build
capacity to understand the different spheres of conflict and security
and what it means to different communities - and especially the most
vulnerable among us. Only by fully understanding these issues can a
positive difference be made and sustainable policies implemented”, said
Nicola Popovic, GPS Program Officer at UN-INSTRAW.
“There is an urgent need for sophisticated gender-sensitive indicators
that can measure and demonstrate the process, quality, direction and
impact of change. In addition, indicators and monitoring mechanisms
should, apart from being gender-responsive, also be context-specific
and account for intersectionality and a plurality of security needs”,
wrote Steven Schoofs, Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute.
Experts showed that there is a big obstacle to collecting
sex-disaggregated data especially in developing and post-conflict
contexts. In this light, it is crucial to develop standardized gender
indicators and data collection processes to assess the impact of gender
empowerment.
The participants recommended creating more academic programs in the
area of GPS with a focus on connecting academia and civil society.
Finally, they suggested developing a Community of Practice that would
strengthen the collaboration and information sharing among academia,
policy-makers and activists.
Participants came from many countries including Australia, Czech
Republic, Ireland, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Uganda, United
Kingdom and the United States.
Press Contact: Valeria Vilardo, Communications Associate,
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