Protecting Vulnerable Populations Exposed to Violence under the Influence of Conflict–Confronting Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence is a major threat to human dignity. Especially in times of conflict, people are vulnerable to Gender Based Violence (GBV) as they lose their homes, jobs, and livelihoods. Unfortunately, this is a fact that has been repeated throughout history.
The JICA Sadako Ogata Institute for Peace and Development Studies has been conducting research on the process of requesting assistance for victims of GBV who have difficulty in seeking such assistance. On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, we interviewed Ms. Chie Kawaguchi, a former researcher at the Institute who has long been involved in this research, about her efforts to date and the difficulties involved.
What are the obstacles to victims’ requests for assistance? In 2017, a research team led by Ms. Kawaguchi began a survey of refugees who had fled conflict-affected South Sudan to neighboring Uganda. In collaboration with a local Ugandan NGO, the team surveyed approximately 300 men and women in refugee settlements about the actual situation of gender-based violence in refugee communities, what assistance they perceived they would receive if they were victimized, the actual channels for requesting assistance, and what obstacles they encountered in requesting assistance. We interviewed about 300 men and women in refugee settlements about their perceptions of gender-based violence and the actual situation.
Conflict-affected gender-based violence is the infliction of physical, mental, and sexual suffering against people who are trapped in vulnerable situations by conflict, against their will, based on gender. Research in Uganda revealed that in addition to rape by armed groups in the home country, there was violence within the family and by close relatives, as well as forced marriages in which girls were forced into girlhood in order to obtain money.
On the other hand, through focus group discussions with refugee men and women, Kawaguchi and her colleagues revealed the refugee community’s perceptions of the various routes of requesting assistance, such as domestic violence and rape, tailored to their respective victims. They also found that churches and host communities in the refugee community also request assistance, and that there are priorities in the refugee community as to who to tell first.
In addition to stigma (the stigmatization of the family), another obstacle for affected persons and communities in seeking assistance was skepticism about assistance, as well as giving up on requesting help, which, while time-consuming and costly, is not sufficient.
It is true that there are many people who are unable to ask for help even if they have been victimized for fear that others will find out about it. Not only that, but we have found that victims and those around them give up on seeking help when the experience of not getting the help they want, even if they have the courage to ask for it, accumulates in the community. We believe that it is important to create an environment in which GBV victims and their families feel comfortable requesting assistance by achieving and sustaining timely and high quality support.
To address GBV, JICA has implemented various assistance programs and achieved positive results. On the other hand, there had been little research in Japan until then that focused not only on the actual situation of GBV victims in conflict-affected refugee camps, but also on the process of requesting assistance, such as when, whom, and what kind of assistance victims seek, and what kind of assistance they need.
All people, regardless of gender or age, can be victims of gender-based violence. However, since women and girls are the main victims, the focus is often on violence against women, Kawaguchi said.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution (Women, Peace and Security) in 2000 that addressed the disproportionately large impact of conflict on women and girls in particular, and specified the need for special measures to protect women and girls from all forms of violence, including gender-based violence. Subsequent continuing resolutions, however, broadly covered all gender-based violence.
‘Sometimes men are victims of gender-based violence. But it is very difficult for them to seek help. There is also the problem of gender assistance being based on women. Gender-based violence can occur regardless of gender. Therefore, it is necessary to include in our research all those who may be affected, and to consider methods that can provide relief in the future.”
Continuing to Raise Issues as a Researcher and Educator In the past, Ms. Kawaguchi has been involved in the development of gender training for PKO personnel at the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters of the Cabinet Office. In the past, the issue of gender-based violence in conflict-affected areas was not often addressed as a government policy or subject of research, she says, because it is a sensitive issue that is difficult to deal with, while being a serious violation of human rights.
I think the fact that we were able to study gender-based violence under the influence of conflict at JICA’s Ogata Research Institute is in itself a major achievement of our research. Gradually, a network of researchers and NGOs working on this issue is emerging in Japan.”
Ms. Kawaguchi is currently teaching at a university. As a researcher, she continues to communicate about gender-based violence in conflict-affected areas, thereby contributing to creating an environment in which this issue is more easily addressed in Japan’s international cooperation, and as a university faculty member, she also works to spread the word about this issue.
He is in charge of a seminar exercise on international cooperation at Toyo Gakuen University in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. In preparation for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, as designated by the United Nations, we will hold an event with our students to address the issue of violence against women in Afghanistan.
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