1. Violence Against Women in the Context of War, Conflict and Militarisation:
Background, Issues and Main Trends
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

2. Multimedia Training Kit
Overview
In this unit you will learn more about:
Why we are interested in women and violence in areas of conflict
The details which make up the bigger story, by gathering and plotting data on
Geography: zones of war, conflict and militarisation
Chronology: significant legal milestones
Players: international bodies, individuals, NGOs, reactionary forces
Documentation: reports, legislation, rulings, statements
Campaigns
The broader view of the issues and themes
The main threads and recurring themes
This unit forms the first in a three-part series for developing the information gathering and dissemination skills of VAW advocacy workers. In it we will be mapping out the information terrain of the subject area as a way of helping the participants navigate their way through the issues and themes of their work. We will build up a picture which locates and links the key events, players, documents, and campaigns. The format and approach are outlined above.
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

3. Why women and violence, in areas of conflict?
Because...
Conflict impacts on women and men differently – violence in conflict is gendered.
Improvement in the condition of women can only come from acknowledging these gender differences:
Tackling the problems of violence against women requires an understanding of the background, issues and main trends in those conflicts and the movements to end them.
The number of people whose lives are affected by living in areas of declared or undeclared war, internal conflict or militarisation is perhaps greater now than it has ever been. The effect of conflict on people’s lives makes a continuous reference to violence: injury, bereavement, migration, rape, forced conscription, imprisonment, and so it goes on. Our task in this training session is to understand better how conflict plays out in the more specific area of violence against women.
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

4. How is violence “gendered”?
Women form the majority of refugees and the internally displaced.
Women become heads of household in difficult circumstances, when male family members are “disappeared," arrested, or killed.
Because women are often seen as symbolising the integrity and honour of the entire community, in times of conflict they are subjected to rape, sexual and physical abuse, and harassment at the hands of the "enemy" as a strategy of war.
Women are also subjected to gender-specific constraints within their own communities.
WHRnet -
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

5. The approach: developing a picture of the subject area
Today we will become information cartographers, charting the information terrain of violence against women in conflict by
Creating a starting point from which to identify background, issues and main trends
Adding the detail, layer by layer
Observing the links between the details
We need a starting point for this project to map out the information that will give us the background, issues and main trends. From here we will be adding detail, layer by layer, always observing the links between the details, so that the picture develops focus and clarity. We will begin with what we already know - a broad, vague, general picture. We will take this starting point with its lack of names, places, figures, dates, rulings, or campaigns and use the resources we have to build up a map, with routes to important landmarks all clearly sign-posted and easy to follow.
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

6. Multimedia Training Kit
The starting point
Definitions of violence against women, war, militarisation and armed conflict.
Legislation, statements, and rulings.
Campaigns.
International organs.
NGOs.
Research, reports, monitoring.
This is our starting point on violence against women in the context of war, conflict and militarisation.
It is general, and vague. It lacks names, places, figures, dates, rulings, or campaigns. Each heading only serves to beg more questions.
Ask the group to come up with questions around each heading
e.g.
What is a militarised society? How does it affect women?
What legislation has emerged as part of efforts to prevent VAW? What statements have been issued? Who has signed up to them? Have they had an impact?
What international organs now exist to tackle VAW? How did they come into existence?
How are NGOs contributing to the efforts to prevent VAW? Are there patterns in the networks that exist?
What are the main areas of research? Who is carrying it out? Which reports have been seminal and triggered significant change?
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

7. Multimedia Training Kit
Exercise
Choose a theme for your group from the main list.
Use the resource pack to draw out a list of significant items/data on that theme.
Display your results on the world map chart handout.
Add dates and events to the timeline.
Use the map to indicate locations where relevant.
Indicate links to items from other groups’ themes by adding those items in the margins of your chart and drawing linking lines.
Put relevant case studies into circular boxes and link them to relevant items in your list.
Break the participants up into 5 groups, with no less than 2 in each group. Assign each group a sub-theme to work on from the following list:
Definitions of violence against women, war, militarisation and armed conflict.
Legislation and rulings.
Campaigns.
International organs and statements.
NGOs.
Research, reports, monitoring.
Their task is to use the resource packs to distil/draw out a list of significant items on their sub-theme. Wherever possible they should have statistics and dates attached to each item.
Notes can be done on paper or the computer, but the final result should be displayed in a rectangular box on the world map.
Dates and events can be added to the timeline.
When participants feel that one of the items in their final list makes reference to an item from another group’s sub-theme, they should indicate that by drawing lines from the items in their main list to secondary lists (using other colours) elsewhere on the sheet.
Geographical references can be made by adding lines to the relevant part of the map.`
Relevant case studies should each be given their own circular box.
Lines should be used to indicate links from the items in the main list to those case studies.
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

8. Multimedia Training Kit
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

9. Multimedia Training Kit
Creating an overview
Report back on your group’s chart.
Add the most significant items to a mother chart containing all groups’ items.
Notice the links between items in the lists.
Observe the development of the time line.
A rapporteur from each group needs to do a de-brief on their chart, explaining the main items - the detail behind them as well as the links which have been drawn to other items.
Add the most significant items to a “mother chart” which has separate lists for each groups’ items.
Show the links between items in the lists.
Keep adding to the timeline.
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

10. Observing the main trends
Discuss any conclusions that can be drawn from:
The chronology indicated on the timeline.
The relationship between campaigns and rulings.
Patterns in the nature of the work of NGOs.
The factors that have had greatest impact on improving the condition of women.
Future prospects for women currently living in areas of war, conflict and militarisation.
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit

11. Violence Against Women in the Context of War, Conflict and Militarisation:
Background, Issues and Main Trends
Saturday, February 23, 2019Saturday, February 23, 2019
Multimedia Training Kit