Centering Women in Transitional Justice Processes

Twenty-three years after the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 affirmed the fundamental nature of women’s participation in post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding, gender sensitivity within transitional justice is a too-often-limited, superficial undertaking, at best. At GIJTR, changing this dynamic is front and center of our work, which not only addresses women’s varied roles in conflict but also positions them to led in informal and formal peace processes.

Working with local Colombian partners, including Ruta Pacifica de Mujeres who shared this image, GIJTR advised the Colombian Truth Commission on the creation of art-based truth-telling initiatives designed specifically to increase and enhance women's participation in the country's peace processes.

“ We must ensure women survivors have not only access to justice but opportunity to lead. ”

Emily Kenney

Policy Specialist, Transitional Justice, UN Women, USA

Ensuring Meaningful Participation of Women in Transitional Justice Processes

In post-conflict and post-authoritarian contexts, women’s voices in transitional justice processes are often framed within the archetypal image of the victim or survivor: amplified to bear witness to the suffering and pain caused by conflict and to mobilize empathy and other political agendas but rarely heard or recognized as experts or political agents (Shackel & Fiske 2019). This persistent negation of women’s capacity continues in spite of the United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (UN Security Council, 2000).

Research shows that the inclusion of women in post-conflict transitional justice processes results in a greater uptake of such initiatives and increases the sustainability of the peace process (Paffenholz et al. 2016). The inclusion of women ensures that the gender dynamics of conflict and its impact on women are considered, and opportunities to understand and address multiple forms of gendered harm are made possible.

Through our work, GIJTR aims to address this gap by sharing the experiences of gender activists working on the ground and by looking at how these grassroots organizations and women have negotiated inclusion, representation, and presence and the continuous challenges they encounter in this work.

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Policy Briefs

From “Gender Sensitive” Transitional Justice to Gender Inclusivity

Lessons Learned from Armed Conflicts in Colombia and Guatemala to Prevent Violence Against Girls and Women

In post-conflict and post-authoritarian contexts, women’s voices in transitional justice processes are often framed within the archetypal image of the victim or survivor: amplified to bear witness to the suffering and pain caused by conflict and to mobilize empathy and other political agendas but rarely heard or recognized as experts or political agents (Shackel & Fiske 2019). This persistent negation of women’s capacity continues in spite of the United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (UN Security Council, 2000).

Research shows that the inclusion of women in post-conflict transitional justice processes results in a greater uptake of such initiatives and increases the sustainability of the peace process (Paffenholz et al. 2016). The inclusion of women ensures that the gender dynamics of conflict and its impact on women are considered, and opportunities to understand and address multiple forms of gendered harm are made possible.

Through our work, GIJTR aims to address this gap by sharing the experiences of gender activists working on the ground and by looking at how these grassroots organizations and women have negotiated inclusion, representation, and presence and the continuous challenges they encounter in this work.

Women Leaders in Transitional Justice Processes

Fatou Baldeh, Founder and Director of Women in Liberation and Leadership in the Gambia shares the importance of including women's experiences, in their own terms, during formal and non-traditional transitional justice processes. GIJTR has supported the work of WILL and local grassroots organizations across Gambia since 2015, ensuring a proper the inclusion of women................

Resources

Perspectives from the Ground

Women and Transitional Justice

This toolkit aims to explore the multiplicity of roles occupied by women during conflict and periods of authoritarian rule, as well as how these roles impact on women’s needs post-conflict; highlight the ways in which women have been involved in transitional justice processes and the impact of their involvement; investigate obstacles to the inclusion of women in transitional justice processes; and share recommendations from women-led grassroots organizations for meaningful inclusion of women in transitional justice processes. It considers a wide range of contexts, including Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Guatemala.

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Truth, Bread and Tea

A Toolkit for Reintegration of Women Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Children Born of War

This toolkit draws on the extensive research conducted by GIJTR partners as part of the Reintegration and Transitional Justice project. Both the project and the toolkit aim to promote greater recognition of the unique societal reintegration needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and children born of war and highlight the importance of addressing the needs of these survivors within formal transitional justice processes and grassroots, community-based reintegration initiatives.

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Spaces for Women to Flourish in Informal Settings

For transitional justice processes to address the past in a meaningfully gendered way, their design and functioning must be informed by the lived realities of women, whose experience and expertise during conflict position them to be effective leaders in the rebuilding process. However, in most cases, women are not included in formal transitional justice processes, plus in some cases, women survivors of conflict prefer not to take part in these traditional approaches, as being widely identified as a victim can further intensify their isolation and trauma. To address this wrong, GIJTR has supported civil society organizations, locally led by women, to provide a platform for women survivors of conflict to share their experiences in informal settings such as listening circles, quilting activities, body-mapping, or river of life exercises, among others.

For transitional justice processes to address the past in a meaningfully gendered way, their design and functioning must be informed by the lived realities of women, whose experience and expertise during conflict position them to be effective leaders in the rebuilding process. However, in most cases, women are not included in formal transitional justice processes, plus in some cases, women survivors of conflict prefer not to take part in these traditional approaches, as being widely identified as a victim can further intensify their isolation and trauma. To address this wrong, GIJTR has supported civil society organizations, locally led by women, to provide a platform for women survivors of conflict to share their experiences in informal settings such as listening circles, quilting activities, body-mapping, or river of life exercises, among others.

The "River of Life" exercise is an arts-based approach to transitional justice where victims or survivors of conflict highlight critical moments in their lives on paper. In this image, women representatives of local CSOs in Guinea do this exercise as part of a GIJTR workshop.
With 120 individual but connected panels, three “quilts” were created to share the stories of Rohingya women currently living in Bangladesh. Panels were created under an art-based approach to transitional justice activity under GIJTR's documentation project in Bangladesh.
One embroidery panel develop by a Rohingya women who participated in GIJTR's documentation initiative in Bangladesh.
Through handcrafting workshops, women developed ten "dolls" that would resemble victims and survivors of the Colombian Conflict. Audio testimonials of the survivors were placed inside the dolls, and people would be able to listen the accounts through headphones.
Body-mapping is a technique in which one tells a story through a life-sized drawing of one’s own body. It's an arts-based form of memorialization that can aid processes of reflection and healing. The picture above shows the process of creating a body-map during a GIJTR memorialization workshop in Guinea.
Body-mapping is a technique in which one tells a story through a life-sized drawing of one’s own body. It's an arts-based form of memorialization that can aid processes of reflection and healing. The picture above shows the process of creating a body-map during a GIJTR memorialization workshop in Guinea.

Reintegration and Transitional Justice Campaign

Between April and June 2021, GIJTR Consortium Partners shared first-hand experiences of women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and mothers of children born of war to combat the stigmatization of their experiences and promote greater understanding of their needs in relation to justice, reparations and healing. The campaign culminated in the launch of a toolkit and policy briefs designed to aid practitioners and policymakers in designing transitional justice processes better suited to addressing the unique needs of these survivors and their children.

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Contact

For more information, or to get involved, please contact GIJTR's Senior Program Director Ereshnee Naidu.

enaidu@sitesofconscience.org