1
00:00:00,110 --> 00:00:03,120
To introduce our second speaker, Dr. Henry Martin,

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:10,110
who has worked for the charity sector for a number of research institutions focussing on gender, peace and security,

3
00:00:10,110 --> 00:00:18,360
mainly in Southeast Asia and Central Asia, but also in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and he does experience also from Central and Eastern Europe.

4
00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,140
So we I have a discussion a little bit on that part of the world as well.

5
00:00:22,140 --> 00:00:30,750
You will to be in conflict resolution and peace studies and wrote a thesis on masculinities and urban violence in Timor less.

6
00:00:30,750 --> 00:00:36,270
As I said, he's worked mainly on gender based violence prevention, critically engage in masculinities,

7
00:00:36,270 --> 00:00:45,690
integrating diverse sexual orientation and gender identity and expression perspective into various peace and security work.

8
00:00:45,690 --> 00:00:53,640
He's also worked on the gender dimension of small arms and light weapons, armed conflict and formal and informal security sector actors.

9
00:00:53,640 --> 00:01:00,030
I'd like to encourage all of our participants aligned to start posing their questions in the Q&A

10
00:01:00,030 --> 00:01:03,490
because we tend to all get them at the end and then we don't have enough time to address them.

11
00:01:03,490 --> 00:01:12,380
So if you could continuously pose your questions, that would be much appreciated. I will hand over to Henry now and thank you very much.

12
00:01:12,380 --> 00:01:23,340
Thank you for having me here. And thank you for all my whole corporate centres and especially my co panellist, Bonus Hedditch.

13
00:01:23,340 --> 00:01:27,300
It's it's been a really, really super interesting session so far.

14
00:01:27,300 --> 00:01:34,250
And I hope to contribute to that. I am calling from Myanmar young on soul.

15
00:01:34,250 --> 00:01:40,520
I hope the technology will be OK. And the Wi-Fi is strong enough to for my presentation.

16
00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,770
But if so, bear with me.

17
00:01:43,770 --> 00:01:55,010
So what I wanted to do in this presentation is talk first a bit about some of the successes and some continuing challenges in terms of working on

18
00:01:55,010 --> 00:01:59,180
preventing sexual gender based violence and conflict and how that relates then

19
00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:03,350
to the peace and security agenda and what's been achieved over the past 20,

20
00:02:03,350 --> 00:02:11,870
20 years. What some of the continuing challenges are then I'd like to propose four ways of rethinking or broadening

21
00:02:11,870 --> 00:02:18,140
the approaches to working on sexual gender based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings,

22
00:02:18,140 --> 00:02:29,260
and then finally hand with a couple sort of more a platform of positive examples of how we can rethink approaches to sexual dentifrice,

23
00:02:29,260 --> 00:02:35,660
violence in conflict and post-modern societies, and how that there are ways,

24
00:02:35,660 --> 00:02:39,740
even though this is a very grim and very depressing, frustrating issue to work on.

25
00:02:39,740 --> 00:02:47,120
There are also ways in which we can take things further and do something that not only helps to prevent second gender based violence,

26
00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,730
but also addresses youth project needs and vulnerabilities of survivors.

27
00:02:52,730 --> 00:02:57,020
So starting, first of all, with the some of these successes,

28
00:02:57,020 --> 00:03:04,910
and even though it seems a bit absurd now, 20 years ago before Trittin, 25 for 25 years ago,

29
00:03:04,910 --> 00:03:12,230
before the Beijing Conference on women sexual violence on the baseline finals was

30
00:03:12,230 --> 00:03:16,850
not considered an issue that was worthy of talking about an international force.

31
00:03:16,850 --> 00:03:27,050
It was not something that was discussed. The Security Council was seen as something that was an inevitable and unfortunate but kind of quote unquote,

32
00:03:27,050 --> 00:03:32,660
natural part of conflict that that's just happened. And that really has changed.

33
00:03:32,660 --> 00:03:41,120
And I don't think it would be possible anymore, as it was in 90s and early 1990s for the head of the U.N. mission in Cambodia.

34
00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:47,750
When pressed on sexual abuse allegations by peacekeepers just to say that boys will be boys.

35
00:03:47,750 --> 00:03:49,010
So there has been a shift,

36
00:03:49,010 --> 00:03:59,390
a major shift there in terms of sexual gender based violence being seen as an issue that needs to be tackled and that has to be taken seriously.

37
00:03:59,390 --> 00:04:07,700
And that is a major achievement. But it is only the first step and that's only the starting point for this kind of work.

38
00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:13,520
And I think it's quite easy, even though the statistics are quite depressing.

39
00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:20,630
It is also very good to see that in terms of the discussion front Corbitt 19, that domestic violence,

40
00:04:20,630 --> 00:04:24,590
sex and gender based violence in the context of lockdown's is already being seen

41
00:04:24,590 --> 00:04:29,780
as an issue that is is is to be taken since that needs to be taken seriously.

42
00:04:29,780 --> 00:04:35,600
So we've gotten past the process to see that this is an issue that needs to be tackled.

43
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,100
But where do we go from there? And I think sort of the what's happened after 13,

44
00:04:40,100 --> 00:04:50,060
25 in the following U.N. Security Council resolutions is that we we've gotten a lot of a lot more tools to work with,

45
00:04:50,060 --> 00:04:56,390
a lot more guidance on how U.N. peacekeeping missions, for example, troop contributing countries,

46
00:04:56,390 --> 00:05:01,790
investigators need to act and the processes that need to be in place.

47
00:05:01,790 --> 00:05:08,840
The administrative structures that need to be in place to protect women and girls, but also men and boys from sexual gender based violence.

48
00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:12,380
How to work with the aftermath. You have women and peace and security,

49
00:05:12,380 --> 00:05:22,040
national action plans in a range of countries that we then go into much more detail what this means at the national level in terms of peacekeeping.

50
00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:26,750
And I think that though those are really, really important steps are.

51
00:05:26,750 --> 00:05:31,930
And I was working on a study for the OSCE last year looking at women's peace and security, national action plans.

52
00:05:31,930 --> 00:05:40,510
And you can see how the fact that different kinds of actors who have not thought about sexual violence previously now really have to engage with it,

53
00:05:40,510 --> 00:05:42,170
with it and had to think through.

54
00:05:42,170 --> 00:05:48,710
What does this mean for the workers that, say, the head of these civil defence authorities when addressing natural disasters?

55
00:05:48,710 --> 00:05:54,440
What does this mean for Serbian policies when working on small arms legislation?

56
00:05:54,440 --> 00:06:01,730
I think there is definitely a lot that has happened and that is really important and we shouldn't forget about that.

57
00:06:01,730 --> 00:06:09,190
There are also important international initiatives keeping this on the agenda, such as the eye, as was mentioned by friends HelpAge.

58
00:06:09,190 --> 00:06:11,100
And I think what's also really crucial.

59
00:06:11,100 --> 00:06:18,990
Important what's happened over the past years and is reflected in the latest U.N. Security Council resolutions last year,

60
00:06:18,990 --> 00:06:23,460
is that there is an increased understanding that these approaches need to be survivor centric,

61
00:06:23,460 --> 00:06:28,890
that our fighters cannot go in and determine on behalf of survivors what their needs are.

62
00:06:28,890 --> 00:06:34,860
But these initiatives need to be based on the needs of survivors of sexual violence.

63
00:06:34,860 --> 00:06:43,330
And a last sort of encouraging sign that I see as also then this broader understanding of what sexual and gender based violence is.

64
00:06:43,330 --> 00:06:47,040
And so it's no longer only seen as rape, as a weapon of war.

65
00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:54,360
But there is much more understanding that we do need to look at all the other forms of violence that involve sexual and sexual exploitation and abuse,

66
00:06:54,360 --> 00:07:01,650
sexual and gender based harassment. Also looking at other forms of sexual violence beyond rape.

67
00:07:01,650 --> 00:07:04,730
That said, tremendous challenges remain.

68
00:07:04,730 --> 00:07:12,720
And the number one challenge, of course, is that sexual violence and conflict continues to be an issue that we see in conflicts in Latin America,

69
00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,220
in sub-Saharan Africa, in the MENA region, in Eastern Europe, across Asia.

70
00:07:17,220 --> 00:07:22,020
And we also see it in in post-conflict societies.

71
00:07:22,020 --> 00:07:31,160
So we have not gotten anywhere close to preventing or addressing Sacramento based violence to the level that's necessary.

72
00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:39,720
And that's how it's right. You highlighted that there have been advances at the national level and international level in terms of fighting impunity.

73
00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,560
But at the same time, we also have major setbacks there.

74
00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:50,550
For example, in the International Criminal Court, in terms of prosecuting these crimes at international level,

75
00:07:50,550 --> 00:07:57,180
there remains also this huge problem across societies on the planet that the stigma of sexual violence,

76
00:07:57,180 --> 00:08:02,920
the stigma of gender based violence is on the victims and the survivors, not on the perpetrators.

77
00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:10,410
So a lot more continues to exist that we need to work on.

78
00:08:10,410 --> 00:08:14,970
Also, I think one of the key issues that I would see in terms of deploying peace and security

79
00:08:14,970 --> 00:08:20,040
agenda is that sexual gender based violence tends to be seen as separate from other pillars.

80
00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:26,730
So we see protection and prevention of cyclones in the peace files as not being interests, intimately linked with increasing violence,

81
00:08:26,730 --> 00:08:32,790
political empowerment, increasing women's participation in increasing violence, economic empowerment.

82
00:08:32,790 --> 00:08:37,770
So I think there is a lot more that needs to be done and the linking the different spheres of peace and security to ensure that there

83
00:08:37,770 --> 00:08:45,690
is hope that that is long term and fundamental change interest in gender relations that prevents that from gender based violence.

84
00:08:45,690 --> 00:08:53,520
Also, I think there's a need to work a lot more on the root causes of sexual gender based violence, around patriarchy,

85
00:08:53,520 --> 00:09:03,660
around men and sense of sexual entitlement and control of women's bodies, but also the men's bodies or these bodies oppressed pressed gender persons.

86
00:09:03,660 --> 00:09:06,480
What more needs to be done to really tackle militarism?

87
00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:16,380
But also some of the socio economic factors which contribute to exacerbating domestic violence is the partner violence in settings of conflict,

88
00:09:16,380 --> 00:09:19,090
both post-conflict settings.

89
00:09:19,090 --> 00:09:25,870
So I would see us as kind of a key for points in terms of broadening the way in which we look at Section 10 of this violence is,

90
00:09:25,870 --> 00:09:34,660
first of all, to broaden the focus of how we as the international community, as international action actors, approach this issue.

91
00:09:34,660 --> 00:09:41,380
So a lot of the focus has been on combating impunity, and that is because a really risky area to work on.

92
00:09:41,380 --> 00:09:50,740
But oftentimes that means that resources then go to processes which are very far removed from the lives of victims and survivors.

93
00:09:50,740 --> 00:09:57,720
And the if that they be successful prosecution in The Hague of a senior warlord

94
00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,950
does very little or it reflects very little into the lives of survivors,

95
00:10:02,950 --> 00:10:06,580
let's say, in Central African Republic or South Sudan and so on.

96
00:10:06,580 --> 00:10:11,980
So I think there's a need to think without dropping the fight against impunity.

97
00:10:11,980 --> 00:10:19,480
Rethink also how we can best use the resources to support and help the survivors of sexual violence.

98
00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:24,940
Secondly, I think we need to also then broaden the way in which we look at sexual and gender based violence in conflict and

99
00:10:24,940 --> 00:10:32,140
not see conflict related sexual violence as being completely separate from other forms of domestic violence.

100
00:10:32,140 --> 00:10:38,680
Intimate partner violence, gender based violence that continue to happen in war societies,

101
00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:46,480
even in countries like DRC or in South Sudan, where you have a high level of sexual violence being committed by conflict actors.

102
00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:51,160
There is still the most dangerous place for a woman, and a girl tends to be in the home.

103
00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:58,510
And a lot of gender based violence, which is exacerbated by the conflict, is actually then violence that is committed by civilians.

104
00:10:58,510 --> 00:11:07,810
So I think we need to overcome that cycle between domestic violence of civilian gender based violence and conflict, prevent sexual violence.

105
00:11:07,810 --> 00:11:13,330
Next, I think what is really key is increasing the amount of resources that are being put into

106
00:11:13,330 --> 00:11:17,470
this kind of work and channelling a lot of those resources through local organisations,

107
00:11:17,470 --> 00:11:19,660
through women's rights organisations.

108
00:11:19,660 --> 00:11:26,980
And as the past few weeks have shown, if there is a political will and massive amounts of money can be mobilised quite quickly.

109
00:11:26,980 --> 00:11:31,690
But I think the issue there is that there hasn't been that political will.

110
00:11:31,690 --> 00:11:37,980
And Esperance, which mentioned sometimes this is something relatively small in the tens of thousands and the millions and

111
00:11:37,980 --> 00:11:47,080
then tens of millions and not in the billions and trillions not being mobilised now in these COGAT times.

112
00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:47,350
Lastly,

113
00:11:47,350 --> 00:11:56,890
I think then we also need to be much more aware of integrating the work on preventing sexual gender based violence with other parts of the WTS agenda,

114
00:11:56,890 --> 00:12:00,040
with participation, with relief and recovery,

115
00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:09,530
and ensuring that we're not treating this issue as a Seibold separate issue from other forms of gender inequality and gender power dynamics.

116
00:12:09,530 --> 00:12:17,380
So this has been wrapped up, as I mentioned. I want to show also some or highlight some some positive cases.

117
00:12:17,380 --> 00:12:19,420
And I thought of three examples.

118
00:12:19,420 --> 00:12:29,620
One from Colombia, one from Lebanon and one from Kosovo in how this kind of fundamental change in approaching sexual gender based violence can happen.

119
00:12:29,620 --> 00:12:33,070
And I'm happy to share some of those resources later on.

120
00:12:33,070 --> 00:12:41,800
And example from Colombia was one that was spearheaded by a Colombian local peace peace organisation,

121
00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,970
which then put together with an international organisation, Decaf from Geneva.

122
00:12:45,970 --> 00:12:52,570
And with the support of the Norwegian government and brought together indigenous Colombia communities

123
00:12:52,570 --> 00:13:00,850
with the local police force to get the police to really listen to the security needs of indigenous women,

124
00:13:00,850 --> 00:13:12,290
of Colombian women. And instead of coming in and presupposing what the security needs are listening to how women and men, especially women,

125
00:13:12,290 --> 00:13:20,860
redefined their own security needs and then also having the communities listen to the security concerns of the police officers and opening

126
00:13:20,860 --> 00:13:30,190
up that space to really redefining what security means in the context of the peace process to actors who usually are not listened to.

127
00:13:30,190 --> 00:13:37,410
The second example that I wanted to highlight was then also some of the work that's been going on in places like Lebanon.

128
00:13:37,410 --> 00:13:39,910
We're also in in Bosnia and in Albania.

129
00:13:39,910 --> 00:13:48,430
The conflict affected societies of working with perpetrators, of working with men to change their attitudes towards violence,

130
00:13:48,430 --> 00:13:56,910
to change their attitudes towards themselves, to help them work through their their their feelings and frustrations in more productive ways.

131
00:13:56,910 --> 00:14:07,540
But making sure that this work with men is not separate from or is this is not one which screws men and disregards women.

132
00:14:07,540 --> 00:14:14,250
But these initiatives have been very closely linked with women's rights organisations locally and also tend to agree with LGBTI rights organisations.

133
00:14:14,250 --> 00:14:18,680
So making sure that this work with men, with changing masculinities is.

134
00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:23,300
Also then accountable to women's rights organisations. And lastly,

135
00:14:23,300 --> 00:14:28,250
I wanted to sort of highlight some of the great work that's been done at the state level and possible in terms of

136
00:14:28,250 --> 00:14:35,730
ensuring that survivors and victims needs are met and making sure that in that process of supporting victims,

137
00:14:35,730 --> 00:14:45,530
supporting survivors, they're not be stigmatised or stigmatised, traumatised or how to against their will as victims and survivors of health.

138
00:14:45,530 --> 00:14:50,930
Second, gender based violence. I think there's a lot there to be learnt from those examples at the grassroots,

139
00:14:50,930 --> 00:15:01,520
how we can really define security or help local populations redefine their sense of security, help perpetrators of violence.

140
00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:07,130
Question why they use violence and make sure that that's accountable to women's rights organisations.

141
00:15:07,130 --> 00:15:10,700
Unless you also make sure that the kind of support that is given to victims

142
00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:16,400
and survivors is one that does not then unintendedly cause the more problems,

143
00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:20,570
cost stigmatisation, cause them to face violence from the families or the community.

144
00:15:20,570 --> 00:15:29,820
Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Henry, for the insightful presentation.

145
00:15:29,820 --> 00:15:32,519
Thank you for bringing so many different examples.