PRIO Network

Gender, Conflict and Peacebuilding Research at PRIO
Led by Torunn L. Tryggestad
Jan 2006 -

Women in Armed Conflict and Peacebuilding: Implementing Security Council Resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security"

The project will be carried out at PRIO as a comparative analysis of women’s influence and participation in several peace processes.

Five years have passed since the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace, and Security” (SCR 1325). For the first time in the history of the Council, questions concerning peace and security were treated within a gender perspective. The actual text of the resolution is very broad and far-reaching. It touches upon central aspects of national peace processes and deals with all organizational levels of the UN. The acknowledgement of the right of women to participate in political decision-making forums as well as their rights as actors in negotiations and peace-building processes are thoroughly emphasized. There has been a wish to move away from the one-sided focus on women’s role as victims and move towards a more actor-defined understanding of gender.

The project has three main objectives:
(1) to analyze and discuss the extent to which women have participated in three national peace processes (Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Sri Lanka) and the extent to which their interests and demands have been an integrated part of the negotiations;
(2) to evaluate if and how SCR 1325 and its objectives have had any impact on ongoing peace processes; and
(3) to analyze whether women’s influence in the various parts of the UN system has increased as a direct consequence of the Security Council’s resolution. The three case studies are at the core of the analysis. The text of the resolution will serve as a thematic and methodological point of departure as well as a basis for the empirical criteria and indicators we make use of in order to measure “success” or “failure” in relation to the objectives mentioned above.

We expect the analysis to demonstrate that the dynamics of the various processes vary and that the processes are not necessarily decided by the resolution itself, but are also results of national circumstances. The analysis of women’s participation in three peace processes, after SCR 1325 was adopted in 2000, is our main focus, while the text of the resolution is our point of reference. It will form the basis of many of the research questions and serve as an important tool in the analytical process.

Past Events

Peer-reviewed-Journal-Article

Skjelsbæk, Inger; & Tryggestad, Torunn L. (2011) Kvinner i det norske forsvaret: Likestilling eller operasjonelt imperativ? [Women in the Norwegian Armed Forces: Gender Equality or Operational Imperative?] , Sosiologi I Dag 41(1): 53–75.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2010) The Elephant in the Room: An Overview of How Sexual Violence came to be Seen as a Weapon of War .
Tryggestad, Torunn L. (2010) The UN Peacebuilding Commission and Gender: A Case of Norm Reinforcement , International Peacekeeping 17(2): 159–171.
Tryggestad, Torunn L. (2009) Trick or Treat? The UN and Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security , Global Governance 15(4): 539–557.

Book Chapter

Skjelsbæk, Inger(2008) Demokrati og Likestilling [Democracy and Gender Equality] Demokrati: Vilkår Og Virkninger. : (349–365).

Edited Volume

Skjelsbæk, Inger;Anderlini, Sanam;Jean Wood, Elizabeth;Brück, Tilman;Vothknecht, Marc; & Steinberg, Donald, eds, (2011) Women and War: Power and Protection in the 21st Century. : United States Institute of Peace. .

Non-refereed_Journal_Article

Skjelsbæk, Inger (2008) Statskvinne med barrierebrytergen. Om forskeren , feministen og politikeren Helga Hernes [Helga Hernes: Researcher, Feminist and Politician] , PROSA 4.

Popular Article

Skjelsbæk, Inger (2011) Norwegians Must Build a Climate of Hope, Not Fear, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 August.
Skjelsbæk, Inger (2011) Barnas usikre verden [Children's Insecure World], Dagsavisen, 5 August.

Conference Paper

Chun, Suk 2010 Sexual Violence and Abuse by UN Peacekeepers – Definition and Documentation Challenges, presented at BICC Conference on Wartime Rape, , 11–12 March.

PRIO Policy Brief

Tryggestad, Torunn L. (2010) The UN Peacebuilding Commission and Women: What Role for Norway? 12. : PRIO.
Chun, Suk; & Tryggestad, Torunn L. (2010) Ten Years of Women, Peace and Security: Observing the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) 6. : PRIO.
Chun, Suk (2009) Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeepers 10. : PRIO.

Report Other

Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Skjelsbæk, Inger (2007) Kvinner i Forsvaret og implementering av FNs Sikkerhetsrådsresolusjon 1325 om kvinner, fred og sikkerhet: Potensial, status og anbefalte tiltak [Women in the Norwegian Armed Forces and Implementation of UN SC Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security: Potential, status and recommendations ], Report commissioned by the Defence Study 2007, : .

PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update

Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Lorentzen, Jenny Kathrine (2012) Claims About Global Decline in Sexual Violence Spark Debate, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2012: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Lorentzen, Jenny Kathrine (2012) Gender, Empowerment and Conflict in South Asia, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2012: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Lorentzen, Jenny Kathrine (2012) Engaging Men for Women's Empowerment, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2012: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.;Lorentzen, Jenny Kathrine; & Berggrav, Halvor (2012) The Political Psychology of War Rape, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2012: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Berggrav, Halvor (2011) Nobel Days in Oslo, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2011: : PRIO.
Wallacher, Hilde; & Tryggestad, Torunn L. (2011) UN Special Rapporteur Margot Wallström Visits PRIO, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2011: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Wallacher, Hilde (2011) New Strategic Plan on Women, Peace and Security launched by Norwegian MFA, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2011: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Chun, Suk (2010) 'Women's Inclusion Has Become a Global Security Imperative', PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2010: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Chun, Suk (2010) 'Does Affirmative Action Make a Change?', PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2010: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Chun, Suk (2010) Mythbusting: Are Women the Main Victims of Armed Conflict?, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2010: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Chun, Suk (2010) 'Women Count for Peace', PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2010: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Chun, Suk (2010) 'We Want Strong Links to Civil Society', PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2010: : PRIO.
Tryggestad, Torunn L.; & Chun, Suk (2010) Men Must Get Involved in Fighting Violence Against Women, PRIO Gender-Peace-Security-Update, 2010: : PRIO.