Training Activities
 

Special Needs of Women and Children in Conflict

The objectives of the training were to familiarize civilian peacekeeping staff with the special needs of women and girls in conflict, to raise awareness of the demographic structure of war-torn societies, and to expose them to local culture, history and social norms from a gendered perspective. The 3-day training included modules on the relevance and role of gender in peacekeeping, the specific needs and rights of women in conflict situations, meeting the needs of women and children refugees/IDPs, and issues related to trafficking.  Open forum discussions followed each day’s lecture and presentation, thus allowing the participants a chance to use their new-found understanding in finding practical solutions to specific work-related issues.

In all seminars, an introductory presentation was delivered by Ms. Maddalena Pezzotti, Chief of the OGA, who dealt with the conceptual framework of gender mainstreaming, placing this strategy in the context of gender equality achievements. Four basic issues were addressed, namely the connotations and implications of gender mainstreaming, its relevance in peacekeeping, the problems commonly experienced in this process, and the challenges to be faced in UNMIK for an effective integration of a gender perspective. Gender mainstreaming was defined as the attempt to take gender equality issues into the mainstreaming of society, the mainstreaming consisting of the directions, organizations and ideas that influence and make the decisions about policies and resources. Hence, gender mainstreaming was described as involving the reorganization, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages by policy-making actors. Gender mainstreaming was also pictured as a critical step in strategic thinking in terms of democracy consolidation and institutional building as it puts people at the heart of policy-making, takes into account diversity, makes full use of human resources, and consequently leads to a better government. Among the difficulties that might accompany gender mainstreaming, the misunderstanding of the concept itself and the need for a broader notion of equality with adequate policy tools and techniques were stressed. Some recurring myths on gender mainstreaming were analyzed from a field experience focus in order to stimulate a discussion on how to enhance shared responsibility for concrete efforts within UNMIK. Basic conditions and variables to overcome the examined myths and obstacles were proposed both at the quantitative and the qualitative levels.

 For a full description about the training, visit UNITAR’s page