Women in Field-Based Peacekeeping

The Security Council has taken steps to increase the number of women peacekeepers in recent years. Increasing the presence of female peacekeepers in deployed troops opens up communication channels for women and girls in situations of conflict to discuss their immediate needs and protection concerns. The equal participation of women in military, police, and civilian units is of particular importance in societies that endorse images of militarized masculinities and traditional state-centric security approaches. Peacekeepers who have undergone thorough gender-sensitive training are more apt to cater to the needs of local women and girls, such as the specific needs of female ex-combatants during the process of demobilization and reintegration into civilian life, and provide nuanced support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Drawing upon the Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), the NGOWG WPS advocates for the Security Council to increase the number of women being deployed as military observers, civilian police officers, and humanitarian personnel in order to incorporate a gender perspective into field-based peacekeeping operations. The NGOWG WPS further emphasizes the importance of gender-sensitive training for peacekeepers as well as the need to include sex-disaggregated data in all mission reports. The NGOWG WPS advocates for the deployment of Gender and Women’s Protection Advisers as part of all missions as well as for zero-tolerance policies for acts of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) committed by peacekeeping staff.