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Geopolitics

Women Always Lose In War — That's Why They Can Help End Them

Negotiators working to end Colombia's decades-long civil war are seeing women as a critical component of lasting social and political peace.

A 2008 protest in Colombia calling for the release of FARC kidnapping victims
A 2008 protest in Colombia calling for the release of FARC kidnapping victims
Farid Kahhat

-OpEd-

LIMA — Most people know about the peace talks between Colombia's government and the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which are expected to end the country's decades-long civil war.

But few know about the focus on gender in these talks.

One government negotiator, María Paulina Riveros, observed it was necessary to give particular attention to women because they were suffering "specifically and disproportionately the effects of the conflict." Research has already shown that not all parts of a society suffer an armed conflict in the same manner. Some groups suffer more than others.

Young men, for example, are more inclined to take up arms and face a greater risk of dying in extra-judicial executions. In turn, they also benefit from conflict, as young men are rewarded both socially and politically for bearing arms. Fighting also gives them privileged access to economic resources.

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María Paulina Riveros — Photo: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos

In a war, women are far more likely to become victims of crimes like sexual violence and trafficking. During periods of conflict, raping women is often a strategy to access territories or resources.

Levels of poverty among women rise 30% in countries embroiled in conflict, according to a study sponsored by the World Bank. Poorer countries are, of course, more likely to suffer conflict, which feeds a vicious cycle. Another World Bank study finds that political violence is becoming the first cause of poverty as an increasing number of countries get caught in recurring cycles of political unrest. Some 90% of the countries that suffered civil wars between 2000 and 2011 had gone through a civil war in the preceding three decades.

Recent research suggests that including the wartime experiences of women, though not those few on the front lines, can help in both preventing and resolving armed conflicts.

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Society

How Argentina Is Changing Tactics To Combat Gender Violence

Argentina has tweaked its protocols for responding to sexual and domestic violence. It hopes to encourage victims to report crimes and reveal information vital to a prosecution.

A black and white image of a woman looking at a memorial wall in Argentina.

A woman looking at a memorial wall in Argentina.

CC search
Mara Resio

BUENOS AIRES - In the first three months of 2023, Argentina counted 116 killings of women, transvestites and trans-people, according to a local NGO, Observatorio MuMaLá. They reveal a pattern in these killings, repeated every year: most femicides happen at home, and 70% of victims were protected in principle by a restraining order on the aggressor.

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Now, legal action against gender violence, which must begin with a formal complaint to the police, has a crucial tool — the Protocol for the Investigation and Litigation of Cases of Sexual Violence (Protocolo de investigación y litigio de casos de violencia sexual). The protocol was recommended by the acting head of the state prosecution service, Eduardo Casal, and laid out by the agency's Specialized Prosecution Unit for Violence Against Women (UFEM).

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