Despite their varied roles, female ex-combatants seem to share one unfortunate characteristic: limited access to benefits when peace and demobilization come. This is also true for girls abducted for sexual services and the families of ex-combatants in the receiving community. These groups are often neglected during demobilization and reintegration; or, at best, women, men, boys, and girls may receive equal benefits but are treated as a homogenous group, which prevents specific needs from being addressed.
Some think that the first objective of a DRP (demobilization and reintegration program) is to have a positive impact on the peace dividend. Another goal often mentioned is the reduction of military expenditures for budgetary reasons. Or, as others argue, the DRP objective should be to assist vulnerable ex-combatants. How does a gender dimension fit with these objectives?
Gender has no direct impact on military expenditures, but addressing gender issues could help post-conflict recovery. Gender is also linked to vulnerability: Evidence suggests that female ex-combatants are generally more vulnerable than male ex-combatants as, in some contexts, are families.
This work focuses on selected gender issues—that is, women and girls’ needs during demobilization and reintegration programs. This paper does not consider a geographical approach (region specificities) but instead favors a culturally consistent approach. The first objective of this work is to identify and address specific female needs in future DRPs. Second, the work aims to identify DRP strategies that guarantee minimal gender discrimination. Because DRPs cannot solve every potential post-conflict problem, it is vital to identify the most important needs and resources for each context, propose strategies, and focus on the mandate of DRPs.
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