Women Peace and Security: Sexual Gender-Based Violence Survivor Support in Refugee Settlements in Uganda

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to identify the extent of which international gender norms—Women, Peace and Security (WPS), United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, and the succeeding resolutions—have been materialized and implemented. Norm diffusion research in international relations presents series of studies on why international norms are being adopted by states. As a case study, this paper explores the process of WPS diffusion in Uganda in three different perspectives, the state system as a leadership level, the humanitarian refugee response structure as the middle level, and refugee settlements as the grassroots level. The paper aims to understand how these norms were diffused at the three levels of coordination, by looking at Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) survivors support mechanisms for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. From the combined review of international norms on peace and women, through the analysis of grassroots level support mechanisms for SGBV survivors, the paper concludes that a certain level of WPS diffusion can be observed in the refugee settlement areas in Uganda. The international norms on WPS translates to the refugees’ actual help-seeking preferences and awareness of the various support mechanisms. While the papers confirms the presence of support gaps, it reiterates the need for further gender mainstreaming in both humanitarian aid and governmental policies and the role of humanitarian aid in the process.