How gender relations shape the ways in which different actors engage in conflicts, how men and women are affected by conflict in specific ways and how they seek to resolve it are key questions when looking at conflict from a gender perspective. Because conflict has different impacts on men and women, gender-related experiences of conflict also differ widely, including those of forced displacement and gender based violence.

Another important dynamic of conflict is that it can transform gender relations. Women may acquire unaccustomed social and political leadership roles when they are left in charge of communities when the men leave to fight. Such developments can constitute a challenge once violent conflict has ended and families come back together. At the same time, a transformation of gender roles that has been forced through conflict can also open opportunities for developing new social structures.

Physical and sexual violence towards women occur with greater regularity during and after armed conflict. Yet, when looking beyond men as the major actors in conflict we also note that women are not only victims of conflict but often make vital contributions to conflict prevention and peace building efforts. Women can play a transformative role towards ending a conflict, mobilising social movements for peace and engaging in social reconciliation after conflicts. These efforts must be made more visible, as they help building the ground on which official conflict resolution efforts have a chance to succeed.

What can you find here?

To emphasize the importance of gender relations in the context of conflict, this section gathers various sources of information on the issue, providing centralized access to all types of content and knowledge on this topic. The content ranges from articles, reports and news items to pictures and videos. Personal stories from gender experts and stories of women who are living in areas where conflict and violence are a daily reality can also be found here.