The second policy brief in our Queering Women, Peace and Security Policy Brief series co-authored by Chitra Nagarajan and Jamie J. Hagen focuses on supporting queer feminist mobilization for peace and security.
Those committed to gender justice have spent decades promoting the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, most notably achieving recognition by the Security Council in its Resolution 1325 and subsequent WPS Resolutions. Yet, conversations, analysis, and decision making continue to not fully address the gendered dimensions of violence and operate within heteronormative (the assumption that everyone is heterosexual) and cisnormative (that assumption that everyone identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth, and those who do not are considered “abnormal”) views.
As conflict places those socially excluded – including people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, sex characteristics and gender expressions (SOGIESC) – most at risk and is driven by hetero- and cisnormativity as well as gender inequality, the development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding sectors need to ensure a more equitable peace for all. Beyond inclusive provision of humanitarian aid and recognising the shared root causes of violence, a queering of this agenda invites broader understanding of both peace and security. It recognizes that LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) people experience harm during peacetime and may be targeted to a greater degree following political wins such as the securing of gender rights within a peace deal.
In this policy brief, we centre the experiences of activists working at the intersection of WPS and LGBTQIA human rights and highlight the importance of listening to and reflecting their views, experiences and needs. We presenting the work already being done and the challenges activists face before outlining entry points that exist to better support them.
The policy brief responds to three questions:
- What work is already being done?
- What challenges do activists face?
- What entry points exist to better support activists?
We thank all of those who spoke with us for this research including participants from various UN agencies, INGOs and LGBT human rights organizations who took the time to speak with us for this research. We informed all participants of the findings from the 2022 interviews that shape this report and will continue to co-develop future work the participants as we engage in future efforts for supporting queer feminist mobilizations for peace and security
Next steps:
In September of this year Queen’s University Belfast will host a workshop to further these queer feminist mobilizations in peace and security, bringing some of these activists together for a two day convening.
The research for this policy brief was funded by Outright International as part of the internal report Mapping Entry Points for Queering Peace and Security Responses.
Read the policy brief below. Read others in the Queering WPS series here.
Blog for the Centre for Gender in Politics, Based at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen's University Belfast 