1. Running Head: GENDER RELATIONS AND CONFLICT 1
GENDER RELATIONS AND CONFLICT
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(January 19, 2012)

2. Running Head: GENDER RELATIONS AND CONFLICT
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Gender Relations and Conflict: The three main issues about gender and conflict
Women are less involved in war than men. On the contrary, they experience much pain
during these conflicts. There are various issues, which concern gender conflicts. The first issue is
inadequate security on women in cases where the rule of law has fallen. Two, there is normally
women abuse by the armed groups. Lastly, there are also cases of women being abused by
personnel security of the state.
These issues are very important because women together with children constitute many
refugees who run away from conflicts. Inadequate established community structure protection
and formal systems of justice make women very susceptible to abuse and exploitation when
fleeing areas of conflict. During transit, women are susceptible to border, armed groups and
smuggler attacks. Within the refugee camps, community and family conflicts exist. In some
cases, aid workers end up abusing women. Additionally, women encounter devastating sexual
violence forms. These forms of violence are in some cases carried out to attain various political
goals. They are the first to be influenced by the breakdown of infrastructure. This is because of
their attempt to maintain families together and take care of the injured. They may also, be
compelled to start sexual exploitation to survive and help their families (Cook, 2006).
The other three issues are the poor representation of women during formal processes of
peace, inequitable and discriminatory legislations and some outdated customary practices such as
wife inheritance and traditions. Poor representation of women during conflict resolutions has led
to failure to address the major concerns of women like post-conflict accountability, gender based
and sexual violence and the rights of women (Elshtain, 1987).

3. Running Head: GENDER RELATIONS AND CONFLICT
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These issues are interconnected because their effects are normally felt even after the end
of conflicts. These include cases of unwanted pregnancies, stigmatization and sexually
transmitted infections.

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References
Cook, B. (2006). Women and War: ABC-CLIO Publishers.
Elshtain, B. (1987). Women and War. New York: University of Chicago Press.
www://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/indwm/
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/
Silber, N. (2008). Gender and Sectional Conflict. Boston: UNC Press Books.