Victims, Perpetrators or Actors?: Gender, Armed Conflict and Political Violence

"This book provides a holistic analysis of the gendered nature of armed conflict and political violence, and a broader understanding of the complex, changing roles and power relations between women and men during such circumstances. Currently, armed conflict and political violence are predominantly viewed as ‘male domains’, perpetrated by men acting as soldiers, guerrillas, paramilitaries or peacemakers. The involvement of women has received far less attention, with a tendency to portray a simplistic division of roles between men as aggressors and women as victims, particularly of sexual abuse. Consequently the gendered causes, costs and consequences of violent conflicts have been at best under-represented and most often misrepresented. Through empirical case studies from different regions of the world, this book aims to address four key issues: women and men as both actors and victims; the stages of conflict as parts of a complex process with gendered implications; political, economic and social violence forming a continuum requiring gender analysis; and local community organizations run and managed by women, playing a key role throughout conflict situations in providing basic needs and critical advocacy."