Trafficking and sexual exploitation are an integral part of armed conflict and its aftermath. Madeleine Rees argues that the lack of political will and an interpretation of law that works in favour of perpetrators - including those working in international peace keeping institutions - must be addr
Yakin Erturk reflects on the six years she spent working as the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, and argues that in order to build a gender- just peace, dis-empowering patriarchy and engaging with the feminist agenda of empowering women must be the guiding principle for all peace i
Rape has been recognized as a war crime in international and Bosnian law, but women survivors seldom receive the reparation they are owed. Meanwhile, persistent male violence makes daily life in Bosnia-Herzegovina a battleground for many women.
The Activist Mothers of Xalapa have united their individual power as mothers to create a collective political motherhood that has resisted many patriarchal institutions in the past, and could well be the driving force of a new society based on nurturing life instead of selling it, says Alda Facio.
Below the radar of the Geneva-2 peace talks, Bosnian and Syrian women are meeting to discuss the lessons that must be learnt from the failure of the Dayton Agreement. Without the voices of those who have the greatest stake in preserving peace in their countries, peace agreements don't work.
Writer and journalist Slavenka Drakulić reflects on the use of sexual violence in war, the psyche in conflict, and the gap between official history and personal memory in the former Yugoslavia.
25 years after Women in Black was founded by Israeli and Palestinian women working together for peace, Sue Finch and Liz Khan report from the International Women in Black meeting in Uruguay on how the movement has grown into a world-wide network speaking truth to power
The use of chemical weapons in Damascus should, at the very least, give us pause to reflect on the principles guiding our nuclear weapons policies.
Reflecting on the life and work of the political philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain, who died last month, Kathleen B Jones writes of a friendship and thirty-year collegial exchange of ideas on subjects including just war, same sex marriage, and the limits of politics.
Labour could turn opposition to the billion pound Trident replacement into an electoral asset, but instead appears to be sleepwalking to oblivion. Rebecca Johnson makes the case for challenging Trident replacement, and says it's time to mobilise civil society
With more fundamentalists predicted to win seats in the forthcoming election, the future is likely to see once again the use of religion as an instrument of extreme gender based oppression in Afghanistan. Will President Karzai use his remaining days in office to cement the foundations of women’s r
The recent Trident Alternatives Review excludes any consideration of alternative means that might provide effective deterrence and more reliable security for Britain in the 21st century. It's time for an intelligent public and political debate.
