Women’s Foreign Policy Sharpens Focus on Ending Gender-Based Violence as Key to National Security

Gender-based violence has affected an estimated 736 million women around the world, so ending it should be a priority in the country’s domestic and foreign policy. Every year from November 25 to December 10, lawyers and governments around the world observe 16 Days Against Gender Based Violenceto highlight the negative impact of gender-based violence and various efforts to end it. However, it is not enough to focus on it 16 days or deal with this as a domestic issue separate from global security issues. Using a feminist foreign policy lens clarifies this connection because it clearly expands the security perspective and focuses on gender equality as both a foreign policy strategy and goal.

Gender-based violence is not the same as violence against women and girls, although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The term “gender-based” acknowledges that violence is based on gender norms, control, and unequal power relations. Although women, men, girls and boys can be affected equally, among them the most affected are women and girls. Globally, one in three women experience gender-based violence and the number is even higher in fragile and conflict-affected areas. Girls are at greater risk as 25% of adolescent girls have reported being abused by their partner.

There are many factors that affect gender-based violence, such as rape, intimate partner violence, conflict-related violence, early and forced marriage, honor killings, emotional abuse, and cyberbullying. Another such terrible case that recently angered France and a large part of the world, was the case of Gisèle Pelicot, whose husband, Dominique Pelicot, was convicted of raping and drugging her for almost ten years. He also invited a number of other men to their home to rape her while she was unconscious. This shocking incident is one of many examples of gender-based violence, which shows the underlying social norms and human costs.

Acts of gender-based violence are part of human rights violations that reflect gender inequality and patriarchal gender norms that are deeply rooted in our society. Gender-based violence exposes individuals and communities to increased instability and fragility, making it difficult for women and girls to participate fully in society and public life, thereby depriving them of their talents and abilities. Gender-based violence has many negative effects, limiting the earning potential of individual survivors as they are often unable to work and often prefer to fail at work. It lowers educational achievements and increases the financial burden of medical, legal services, and relocation costs. This also translates into increased physical harm, disability and death (such as murder, suicide etc.).

Gender-based violence is also a foreign policy and national security issue as, along with all aspects of gender inequality, it directly impacts, and perpetuates, societal fragility that undermines stability and security. Countries with high levels of gender equality are less likely to use force first in conflict, and conversely, those with high levels of gender inequality are more likely to initiate or become involved in conflict. Scholars argue that this is because social values ​​of equality tend to create conditions for using persuasion and negotiation, not violence, to resolve conflicts.

In addition, gender-based violence reduces economic growth, from central to stable. Lack of economic opportunity often leads to political instability as countries with high levels of economic development have stable security environments. Intimate partner violence – one of the most common forms of gender-based violence – has cost 5.2% of global GDP. McKinsey’s analysis mapped data from 95 countries, as in a “full capacity” scenario, if women participated in their country’s economy in the same way as men, global GDP would increase to $2.8 trillion, or 26%, of world GDP. This is roughly equal to the combined economies of China and the United States in 2015. McKinsey also found “almost no countries have a high ranking. [social] gender equality but low gender equality at work.” Similarly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that in 2017, gender discrimination led to a loss of 7.5 percent of global income.

Despite this data, gender-based violence is often seen as a domestic issue with little impact beyond those immediately affected. Using a feminist foreign policy framework can change that perception and ensure that addressing gender-based violence becomes a priority for foreign policy and national security. Feminist foreign policy integrates the objective of gender equality into all national security and foreign policy. This framework re-examines traditional approaches to foreign policy and questions ideas about international relations, energy, security, war and conflict resolution. Some of these ideas are gendered, including the belief that the human dimension of security follows geopolitics, which should guide foreign policy and national security decisions. Feminist foreign policy frameworks clearly acknowledge that gender equality reduces conflict, builds more secure societies, and ensures that a full range of talent and input is used to solve problems.

About 15 countries have a women’s development policy and/or a women’s trade policy. All of them are different based on the context, but they share some important features, including, gender equality as a goal and strategy; extended security definition; , the pitch of various voices; and the desire to address historic power imbalances. Redefining what constitutes security is at the core of a feminist foreign policy as the framework prioritizes issues that disproportionately affect women and girls, and which should be considered in order for a country to develop its foreign policy and national security strategy. This includes not only violence against women, but other non-traditional security issues such as climate change, girls’ access to education, maternal and reproductive health, and child marriage that affect international law.

Feminist foreign policy means moving away from the traditional view of security, which is only to protect the country’s borders, usually by military means, to focus on all aspects of human security. This expanded definition of security means more than the absence of conflict. It recognizes that human security concerns – personal safety, climate change, natural disasters, persistent poverty, food insecurity and epidemics – are not secondary to ensuring stability and security but are fundamental to it. Threats to human security are broad and often related to economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, public security, and political security.

For example, climate change is not only an environmental phenomenon but also a gender and security issue, highlighting the connections between many issues that may not be seen as important in the traditional security field. The UN estimates that 80% of people displaced by climate change are women and children, who are at greater risk of gender-based violence. Women and girls face gender-based violence during displacement and in camps, where they are vulnerable to assault, human trafficking and forced marriage. Due to climate-related shocks, girls are forced to marry and trade for food.

“Bride price” is another example of how non-traditional issues affect security. Valerie Hudson and Hilary Matfess (2018) explained how the practice of the groom’s family paying for the bride-to-be has an impact. It can prevent men from getting married, mainly because of the high costs, the reduction of men’s contact with the community, and increase their chances of joining criminal groups or terrorists, in order to receive dowry money, thus exacerbating the fragile situation. For men in these societies, marriage is the foundation of status as members of society and the ability to be, as Hudson and Matfess describe it, “an important voice in the male group”.

In conflict situations, civilians are exposed to high levels of sexual and conflict-related violence. Both state and non-state actors have targeted civilians through rape, gang rape and kidnappings which exacerbate an already fragile situation. Conflict-related sexual violence also adds to increased migration and fragility, driving competition for scarce resources. This connection of sexual and conflict-related violence and security has been recognized by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and UNSCR Resolution 1820.

In expanding the definition of security, many countries with a pro-feminist foreign policy emphasize the importance of women’s equal access to economic opportunities. For example, Sweden and Canada have developed trade policies for women, while Canada, France and Germany have rethought development aid through a feminist lens. Feminist foreign policy is a vehicle for ensuring that human security factors are properly understood as an integral part of national security and foreign policy. In an ever-challenging and changing world, it is important for policy makers to consider the entire context and set of issues involved when making decisions. Gender is not an add-on, but a key to understanding the multitude of challenges we face together. Integrating it is essential to ensure the deployment of the most effective solutions.

Further Studies in E-International Relations