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Research

The Centre for Women Peace and Security aims to play a leading role in developing the multi-sectoral approach required to further the aims of the women, peace and security agenda. In pursuit of this aim, the Centre:

  • develops research and practice on issues relating to women, peace and security and sexual violence in conflict-affected settings;
  • brings together scholars, activists and practitioners to advance knowledge and influence global and local policy-making;
  • builds partnerships with those working on issues of women, peace and security, such as military personnel, UN agencies, regional and local bodies and civil society actors; and
  • consolidates existing, and produce new academic and international knowledge on women, peace and security. 

Current projects

 UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub

The UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub is a five year project working at the overlap of Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality; Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions; and the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda Read more

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

The Centre for Women, Peace and Security has undertaken a complementary programme of engagement with those working at all levels to end violence against women.

LSE WPS has facilitated and delivered expert advice to two independent UN bodies in relation to their work on violence against women, and created a new accessible online resource. 

Read more.

A Feminist International Law of Peace and Security

A Feminist International Law of Peace and Security (FILPS) is a visionary multi-disciplinary project that elaborates on the legal content of the UN’s Women, Peace and Security agenda to develop an alternative reading of international law that more effectively delivers on gender equality and sustainable peace. Read more

Gendered Peace 

‘Gendered Peace’ is a multi-disciplinary project to secure a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the implications of gender across a spectrum of violence in both conflict- and peace-time to develop the theoretical foundations for a gendered international law of peace.  Read more

Rethinking Policy, Advocacy and Implementation

Funded by the Australian Research Council, the ‘Rethinking Policy, Advocacy and Implementation’ project examines the translation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda into national and local contexts. The project is led by Chief Investigator, Professor Laura J. Shepherd. Read more

 

Past projects

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peace Operations

This is a joint research project, looking at 'Prevention and Accountability of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) in United Nations Peace Operations'. The project is led Dr Ai Kihara-Hunt Associate Professor, the University of Tokyo (Principal Investigator) and Dr Marsha Henry Associate Professor, London School of Economics (Co-Investigator) Read more

Displacement and Women, Peace and Security in Iraq

The ‘Displacement and Women, Peace and Security in Iraq’ project looks at the gendered dimensions of conflict-related displacement with a particular focus on displaced women. It seeks to contribute to developing the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in conflict-related situations.

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Displacement and Women's Economic Empowerment in Iraq

The ‘Displacement and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Iraq’ project seeks to examine the effects of conflict-induced displacement on women’s economic empowerment in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by focusing on their livelihood needs and opportunities.

Read more.

Gender and New Wars

War is a gendered phenomenon. While gender differential impacts of war have been widely studied, there is still a gap in our understanding of how gender is constructed in the context of ‘new wars’ (as defined by Kaldor, 1999).  

In 2017 the Centre hosted the ‘Gender and New Wars’ workshop, bringing together emerging work on the formation, contestation and transformation of gender relations in new wars. Over two days 26 presentations were made in eight panels: Gendered Tactics of New Wars; Gender, International Law and Foreign Policy; Women Perpetrators and Combatants; Care and Political Economy; Culture and Identity; Men and Boys in New Wars; Gender and the War on Terror. Several papers arising from the workshop have been published in Stability journal.

Stigma and Children Born of War

Research across conflict contexts documents specific risks, needs and protection gaps for some children born as a result of conflict-related sexual violence. One key risk is the gendered, intergenerational phenomenon of stigma. Despite this evidence, such children remain marginalised in post-conflict national and international policies, laws and programmes. Led by Joanne Neenan and undertaken in 2017, this research examined stigma and broader human rights challenges children born of CRSV may face and the adequacy of “post-conflict” policy and legal responses.

As part of the project, fieldwork was undertaken in Uganda and Colombia, and the Centre convened an interdisciplinary workshop bringing together participants from academia, civil society, government, non-governmental organisations and the United Nations to explore critical conceptual and empirical questions relating to children born of war and stigma, with the goal of bridging the academic-policy “divide” on these issues.

Strategic Network on Gender Violence Across War and Peace

Over 18 months in 2017 and 18, the Centre for Women, Peace and Security operated a Strategic Network on Gender Violence Across War and Peace. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Network aimed to advance understanding of the continuum of violence framework by focusing on four country situations: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Lebanon and Sri Lanka. Read more.

Spotlight on Fieldwork

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Disaster and Displacement: The resilience of women in Iraq and Nepal

Dr Zeynep Kaya and Dr Punam Yadav were awarded a seed grant from the LSE IGA / Rockefeller Resilience Fund to support scoping research into the resilience of women who are displaced in post-conflict contexts. Dr Yadav undertook fieldwork in Nepal, interviewing women, local leaders, civil society organisations and policy-makers. 

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Gender Structures and Social Wellbeing: A socio-legal exploration of conflict-related gender-based violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liberia

Dr Marsha Henry led a scoping research project on the influence of gender norms and structural forms of inequality and violence on women’s engagement with civil society organisations and institutions which offer psycho-social and legal support. Three members of the LSE WPS team undertook fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liberia in 2016. The research was supported by seed-funding from the Wellcome Trust. 

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A Slow Motion CAR Crash: Systemic failure and the invisibility of gender in UN sexual abuse and exploitation scandals

There have been more than 100 cases of sexual exploitation and abuse or sex or gender based violence involving peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic.

In October 2016, Dr Henri Myrttinen of the LSE WPS Advisory Board undertook a series of interviews in Bangui and Nairobi with local, regional and civil society organisations and UN representatives, on responses to the abuse cases, and reactions and impact of the implementation of stricter regulations on peacekeeping forces.

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Centre for Women, Peace & Security, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE

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