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Centre for Women, Peace & Security

London School of Economics and Political Science
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London WC2A 2AE

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Working on Gender Equality in Fragile Contexts - Tuesday 6 December, 6.30pm-8pm Two billion people live in countries where development outcomes are affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. This panel, convened for the launch of Gender and Development journal’s new issue, is dedicated to the challenges of working on gender in fragile contexts.

Latest on the blog: Promises to Keep: Reflections from the 2016 UN Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security Dr Laura J. Shepherd reflects on the most recent United Nations Security Council open debate on Women and Peace and Security, exploring the role such events play in global politics and identifying common rhetorical themes in member state contributions.

Professor Christine Chinkin has been awarded the Sir Brian Urquhart Award for distinguished service to the United Nations by a UK citizen. The award, from UNA-UK, was given “as a mark of our admiration for her work – as an academic and as a practitioner – in the fields of human rights; women, peace and security; and international law, justice and accountability"

We're delighted to announce a new partnership with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Dr Dubravka Šimonovic. Centre staff, Visiting Fellows and postgraduate students will support Dr Šimonovic in research for her mandate, as well as its dissemination and public engagement. Link to announcement

Our website, Tackling Violence Against Women brings together the regional and international human rights mechanisms and systems which can tackle gender-based violence. It highlights opportunities for advocacy, and provides information on the most progressive and gender-inclusive standards emerging around the world.
The Issue I Timeline I Landmark Cases I International Systems

Christine Chinkin

Why Hasn’t the British Government Taken This Vital Step Against Gender Violence? It has been four years since the UK government signed the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, but without ratifying, it is not legally bound to implement the measures it says it supports. Christine Chinkin sets out the case for urgent ratification.

On 12 April the House of Lords Committee on Sexual Violence in Conflict published Sexual Violence in Conflict: A war crime.
Professor Christine Chinkin, specialist advisor to the Committee said: “This report makes a series of significant recommendations to the UK Government for sustained and co-ordinated action and resources to tackle sexual violence in conflict.” The report calls on the Government to set out ambitious policy goals for reducing conflict-related sexual violence to ensure the international momentum created by the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative is not lost. Read the report (PDF)

Women's Human Rights and Access to Justice for Gender-Based Violence: A view from legal practice in the UK

Discussion on the current challenges in securing women's and girls' access to justice for gender-based violence, in the context of the UK's existing human rights obligations and the approaching Private Members Bill supporting the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. 10 November 2016

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Social Transformation in Post Conflict Nepal: A gender perspective

Panel discussion on Punam Yadav's book, the first study to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between armed conflict and social transformation from a gender perspective. 8 November 2016

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Tackling Sexual Violence in Conflict: An integrated approach

Panel event co-hosted with the UK Gender Action for Peace and Security Network and Women for Women International, featuring Baroness Anelay, the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

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Myths and Realities in Women, Peace and Security

Public lecture by Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Visiting Professor in Practice. 22 September 2016

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The Challenge of Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Crimes Michelle Jarvis.

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Keynote delivered during the Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: What have we learnt? conference on 16 June 2016

Challenges in Investigating and Prosecuting at the International Level Patricia Sellers and Maxine Marcus; Chair: Christine Chinkin.

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This panel discussion took place during the Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: What have we learnt? conference on 16 June 2016

Anything Can Happen: Mapping challenges and opportunities in the oost-2015 women, peace and security agenda Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, introduced by Associate Professor Laura J. Shepherd.

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Keynote delivered during the Women, Peace and Security Post 2015: concepts, criticisms, challenges workshop on 9 March 2016

On International Women's Day, Visiting Fellows Dr Paul Kirby and Associate Professor Laura J. Shepherd took part in Reintroducing Women, Peace and Security, the launch of a special issue of International Affairs. Also speaking: Dr Soumita Basu and Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin.

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Video: Professor Christine Chinkin was interviewed on London Live about her life, motivations and achievements, and the origins and ambitions for the Centre for Women, Peace and Security Watch the interview

Women, Peace and Security Conversations: Charlesworth and Chinkin re-examine the boundaries of international law Professors Hilary Charlesworth and Christine Chinkin discuss their ground-breaking feminist analysis of international law. Hosted by Lucy Reed at Freshfields, Bruckhaus Deringer, and chaired by Dr Gina Heathcote.

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The Politics of Gender Justice at the International Criminal Court: Legacies and legitimacy Does the International Criminal Court's poor record in prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes threaten its ongoing legitimacy? Professor Louise Chappell discusses her new book and the challenges and opportunities confronting the ICC.

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Towards a Feminist Foreign Policy

Activist, social entrepreneur and media commentator Zainab Salbi, in discussion with Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström.

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Women, Peace and Security Conversations: Exploring issues old and new with Professor Cynthia Enloe. Deputy Director Dr Marsha Henry in conversation with Professor Cynthia Enloe on the Centre's agenda; the gendered effects of militarisation; the question of gender relations as causal in the militarisation and war; and much more.

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CEDAW Today: Evolution and challenges in a conflict-affected world

Jane Connors, former chief of the Women's Rights Division in the UN, and Dr Lilian Hofmeister, current member of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. presented and take questions on the role and development of CEDAW.

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Women, Peace and Security: tackling the cycle of violence

Professor Christine Chinkin explored UNSCR 1325, PSVI, and the international legal framework for addressing violence against women and promoting human rights for women, themes central to the context and ambition for the Centre for Women, Peace and Security.

Event recording: Play | Download: Audio I Video

Exposing the Gender Myth of Post Conflict Transition:The transformative power of economic and social rights Christine Chinkin and Madeleine Rees show how human rights and in particular economic, social and cultural rights, which are vital to the organisation of the international system but increasingly ignored in practice, can be used to support a theory of change. NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, October 2016. Read the Article

Women, Peace and Security in Iraq This report by Zeynep Kaya provides an assessment of the Iraqi National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Resolution 1325. LSE Middle East Centre, August 2016. Read the report

The Futures of Women, Peace and Security is a special issue of International Affairs, Europe's leading journal of international relations. The issue, published March 2016, features contributions from Visiting Fellows Dr Paul Kirby and Dr Laura Shepherd.

Velásquez Paiz et al v Guatemala Read Lucia Mazzuca and Keina Yoshida's article on a groundbreaking judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Oxford Human Rights Hub, 10 August 2016.
Part I: Gender Stereotypes and Lack of Justice I Part II: Femicide in Guatemala

Regional Approaches to Combating Violence against Women: The Istanbul Convention Christine Chinkin on the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women. Speaking notes for a talk delivered at our knowledge exchange workshop on 4 February 2016. Read the notes (PDF)

Can gender training change military culture? Read about Aiko Holvikivi's research in Gender training for the troops. Holvikivi is looking at how different countries and organisations such as the UN and NATO approach gender training, and the effect it has on the armed forces and their relations with the civilian population. Aiko Holvikivi is a PhD candidate in the Gender Institute with supervision from Dr Marsha Henry, deputy director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security.

Women, Peace and Security: What does it mean in the contemporary world? on 15 February, Centre Director, Professor Christine Chinkin, delivered the keynote address at the launch of the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security in Oslo, Norway. Read the transcript (PDF)

Towards a Fuller Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda Lucía Mazzuca on the Global Study of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the opportunity provided by new UNSCR 2242 Read the briefing (PDF)

No Shame in Justice: Addressing stigma against survivors to end sexual violence in conflict zones was co-authored by Hilary Stauffer and Erica Hall of World Vision. On 3 December, Baroness Joyce Anelay, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, spoke at the report launch at the Centre. Read the report (PDF)

What next for the UK Women, Peace and Security agenda? On 9 November, together with Women for Women International UK and the UK Gender Action for Peace and Security network (GAPS) we convened a workshop to discuss the committments made by the UK Government at the Open Debate at the UN in October. Read the summary report (PDF) I Storify of the event I Social media round up from Women for Women International

The LSE Law Pro Bono Matters team submitted a report to the UN expert panel reviewing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, arguing that seeing 1325 and its Recommendations as part of the international legal framework, rather than as isolated political statements, would allow them to be understood as part of a body of obligations to uphold human rights at all stages of conflict. Read the report (PDF)

'Why we support the PSVI' (17 June 2015) Christine Chinkin and Madeleine Rees respond to criticisms of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, explaining why the global summit of 2014 was the entry, not the end point

Women and Peacekeeping: Time for the UN to Commit to Gender Equality
UN peacekeepers are deployed to make local populations more safe and secure. They must not be allowed to become another source of insecurity for the people they are sent to serve. Christine Chinkin, Marsha Henry and Aiko Holvikivi on the need for the new UN Secretary-General to commit to gender equality in order to ensure that peacekeeping lives up to […]

The Inter-American Court must provide justice to the women of Atenco
The Atenco case (Mariana Selvas Gomez and others v. Mexico) draws attention to the impunity with which state agents have committed violence against women, and is the latest in series of cases involving gender-based violence in Mexico. Lucía Mazzuca and Keina Yoshida explain how the case presents the Inter-American Court with an opportunity to strengthen its jurisprudence. On the 29 […]

States worldwide must address the sexism, harassment and violence being experienced by women parliamentarians
Lisa Gormley calls on governments to act on the recommendations in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s report on ‘Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians’ and take all measures to address the abuse experienced by women in public life. “There’s a reason why extremists use violence: they cannot win a battle of ideas” Malala Yousafzai said this at the memorial event […]

Promises to Keep: Reflections from the 2016 UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security
Dr Laura J. Shepherd reflects on the most recent United Nations Security Council open debate on Women and Peace and Security, exploring the role such events play in global politics and identifying common rhetorical themes in member state contributions. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go […]

Book Review: Social Transformation in Post-Conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective by Punam Yadav
In Social Transformation in Post-Conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective, Punam Yadav explores the unintended positive impacts of conflict on the position of women in Nepal, drawing on comprehensive interviews with 57 women. The book is a compelling and accessible must-read for those researching social transformation and gender in post-conflict societies, writes Ashleigh McFeeters. This review was first posted on the LSE Review of Books blog here, […]

Conflict-related sexual violence is a preventable crime, and should be a priority for the new UN Secretary-General
William Hague and Angelina Jolie call for concerted global action to end conflict-related sexual violence and tackle societal attitudes that stigmatise survivors and normalise violence towards women. The list of problems in the in-tray of the new United Nations Secretary-General will be one of the most daunting ever facing anyone in that position. It is fortunate that in António Guterres, […]

Documenting a crime “worse than death”
During six months of documenting the sexual violence committed by Syrian army and militias, Marie Forestier discovered that the power of stigma and feelings of helplessness prevented many survivors from speaking. However, as crimes committed by ISIS continue to capture attention whereas those committed by pro-regime forces are under-reported, some women gathered the strength to talk about the abuse they had endured. “Rape is worse than death. I’m more afraid of […]

Rape myths and the rights of victims: why the UK needs to ratify the Istanbul Convention
In response to the acquittal of Ched Evans on charges of rape, Lisa Gormley reflects on the UK government’s approach to ensuring women’s right to protection of the law, and sets out how ratifying the Istanbul Convention would help achieve positive change. The acquittal of Ched Evans has brought an important moment to reflect on where the UK government, Crown Prosecution Service and the judiciary are […]

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