The Hub’s research comprises of 32 projects across seven focus countries: Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. The research approach recognises the variety of gender insecurities and injustices and is motivated by a commitment to the development goals and progress towards gender justice and a sustainable peace.
The Hub’s work in Afghanistan used a range of research methods, including qualitative interviews and policy analysis, to explore the intersection of gender, justice, and security. Projects used innovative participatory methods, such as storytelling, photography, and other forms of visual art. These approaches sought to create space for women and communities to articulate their experiences of conflict in ways that traditional research methods may not encourage.
Gender issues in Colombia are deeply influenced by the armed conflict and by societal norms. Women and the LGBTQ+ community have faced systemic violence and discrimination, with the conflict exacerbating these abuses. Understanding the nuanced relationship between gender, justice and security is critical for Colombia’s continued journey towards peace and equality.
The Hub projects in Kurdistan-Iraq explore complex social issues centred around gender dynamics, labour, and human rights in a challenging environment, particularly ongoing conflict and displacement.
Through arts-based methods and ethnographic studies, complemented by extensive literature reviews and comparative analyses, the Hub’s projects offer a rich, diverse, and contextually relevant understanding of gender, justice and security issues in the region.
Gender issues in Lebanon are complex; while there have been notable periods of advancement in women’s education and participation in the workforce, political representation remains low, and personal status laws differ significantly across religious groups, affecting rights related to marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
The political and economic crises have threatened the limited social progress that has been made. Women and marginalised communities, including refugees and the LGBTQI+ community, are particularly vulnerable in the current climate. Although Lebanon is known for being more liberal than some of its neighbours in terms of women’s and LGBTQI+ rights, the economic collapse has had a detrimental impact on these advances.
The GJS Hub research in Sierra Leone is led by the Land Policy, Gender and Plural Legal Systems research project. This project uses qualitative fieldwork and empirical analysis to critically examine: (1) socio-legal and policy frameworks, (2) engagement and adaptation of customary tenure, (3) tenurial constraints and opportunities, and (4) current policy positions and reform debates in Sierra Leone. Although the project examined the tenure rights of vulnerable people in general, it focused specifically on the tenurial (in)security of women, the structures and practices that shape women’s land rights, and their experiences of pluralistic legal regimes.
Women and girls, especially those from the most conflict-affected regions, were disproportionately affected by the war in Sri Lanka. They continue to face challenges relating to economic insecurity, social stigma, and limited access to justice for the many forms of violence they have endured. Though the empowerment of women and gender justice are understood as critical elements of post-war reconciliation Sri Lanka, progress has been hampered by patriarchal norms, displacement, economic dependence, and inadequate legal mechanisms.
Understanding the nuanced relationship between gender, justice, and security in Uganda is vital for effective policy formulation and implementation. The projects sought to better understand the challenges that have emerged in the aftermath of conflict in Uganda.
In Uganda, Hub research combined long-term ethnography, conducting psychometric assessments, community theatre, oral narratives, participatory art-based and innovative approaches, such as participatory filmmaking and “love life history” interviews.
For more information on the Hub’s work in these countries, please visit the Hub’s publications archive.