transitional justice research institute - University of Ulster

• Rolston, Bill, “Demobilisation and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants: The Irish Case in International Perspective”, Social
Legal Studies, (2007)
4.5 Gender, conflict and transition
In recent years, the growing visibility of sexual violence against women as a primary feature of conflicts has prompted
new research and analyses, which have brought attention to war and conflict as profoundly gendered phenomena.
Women experience conflict as direct casualties (particularly where civilians are targeted in conflicts within states), as
combatants, as refugees, and as targets of wartime sexual violence and domestic violence. As primary carers in most
societies, women also bear a particular burden during conflicts, through losing family members, coping with loss of work,
and sustaining community and social structures. In particular, feminist scholarship has advanced understanding of the
gendered interplay of nationalism, racism and violence against women in conflict situations.
In contrast, however, the role and gendered experiences of women in transitions have received less attention. The peace
processes that produce transitional mechanisms are almost exclusively male – indeed the term ‘peace process’ is often
only applied when political and military elites (mostly men) come to the table to negotiate, even though ‘track two’ civil
society attempts to resolve conflict (usually involving women) are typically on-going (See Peace Agreements as a Means
for Promoting Gender Equality and Ensuring Participation of Women).
More generally, feminist scholars have documented women’s extensive engagement in peace initiatives, and in national
liberation and democracy struggles, followed by their subsequent marginalization. Further, while feminist advocates have
successfully sought the inclusion of women and gender-based violations in various peace agreements and transitional
justice mechanisms, such as tribunals and truth commissions, they simultaneously remain ambivalent about the capacity
of traditional legal and political institutions to deliver gender justice and equality. Furthermore, feminist legal and political
theory has provided well-documented critiques of the public/private divide, the limits of the law and liberal democracy
in providing equality for women, and the difficulties of feminist theorization of the state, which are all directly relevant
to the study of transitional justice.
Aims of TJI Research in this area:
• Critically examine the role of law and legal institutions in addressing gender-based violations in conflict situations,
including sexual violence and other forms of violence against women.
• Provide analyses of the gendered dimensions of legal and political institutions and processes in transitions.
• Document and develop analyses of women’s political participation and feminist politics in transitions
• Bring wider feminist analyses of international human rights and humanitarian law and political theory to bear on
questions of transitional justice
Indicative Projects
• Gender, law, conflict and transition (Christine Bell, Catherine O’Rourke, Fionnuala Ní Aolaín, Catherine Turner)
• Feminist political and legal theory: rethinking democracy, equality and human rights (Christine Bell, Catherine
O’Rourke, Niamh Reilly, Eilish Rooney)
• Masculinities and Transition (Brandon Hamber)
• Women’s movements, civil society and peace agreements (Catherine O’Rourke)
• Female sexual slavery, trafficking legislation, and international law (Adrienne Reilly)
• Transnational feminist advocacy and women’s human rights (Niamh Reilly)
• Women and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
Indicative Publications
• Bell, Christine, “Does Feminism Need a Theory of Transitional Justice – An Introductory Essay”, International Journal
of Transitional Justice, Vol 1, Issue 1. 2007 (co-author with C O’Rourke)
• Reilly, Niamh, Women’s Human Rights: Seeking Gender Justice in a Globalising Age. London: Polity Press, 2007
• Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala, “Political Violence and Gender in Times of Transition” Columbia Journal of Gender and the Law
(2006)
• Reilly, Adrienne, “Slavery Legislation Vs Trafficking Legislation in Prosecuting the Crime of Female Sexual Slavery: The
International Law Perspective.” In Trafficking and Women’s Rights, edited by C Van Den Anker and J Doomernik:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
• Rooney, Eilish “Women’s Equality in Northern Ireland’s Transition: Intersectionality in Theory and Place, Feminist
Legal Studies., 14/3 (2006).
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