Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid: Critiquing the Past, Plotting the Future

by Ai Kihara-Hunt (Contribution by), Henri Myrttinen (Contribution by), Asmita Naik (Contribution by), Nour Abu-Assab (Contribution by), Nof Nasser-Eddin (Contribution by)

Overview

In 2003, the UN adopted a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers and aid workers. The policy arrived amid a series of scandals revealing sexual misconduct perpetrated against the very people peacekeeping and humanitarian missions were meant to protect.

This edited collection, including contributions from academics and practitioners, highlights the challenges of preventing and responding to abuse in peacekeeping and aid work, and the unintended consequences of current approaches. It lays bare the structures of power, coloniality and racism that underpin abuse and hinder accountability while charting a path for future action.

This eye-opening book will appeal to academics and students of the politics and practice of peacekeeping and humanitarianism, and to practitioners, policy makers and those working within the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529238419
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jasmine-Kim Westendorf is Associate Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University. She has written two books and numerous articles in top journals. She has extensive experience in conflict resolution and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, and has held visiting professorships at several institutions.

Elliot Dolan-Evans is Lecturer in Law and International Relations at Monash University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Two Decades of Dealing with Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid - Jasmine-Kim Westendorf and Elliot Dolan-Evans

PART I: Where We’ve Been: The Origins and Scope of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

1. Reflections on 20-Plus Years of Protection from SEA Work - Sarah Martin

2. United Nations Police as a Double-Edged Sword for SEA Accountability - Ai Kihara-Hunt

3. Victims’ Rights and Remedial Action - Sabrina White and Leah Nyambeki

4. Sexual Violence against Peacekeepers and Aid Workers - Phoebe Donnelly and Dyan Mazurana

PART II: How It’s Going: Implementing and Institutionalizing Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

5. Missing the Mark in PSEA - Asmita Naik and Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

6. The Imperative of Prioritizing Victims’ Rights - Jane Connors

6A. United Nations Victims’ Rights Statement

7. Accountability Advocates: Representing Victims - Sabrina White

8. Masculinities and Institutional Blind Spots - Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

9. Power, Consent and Peacekeeping Economies - Kathleen M. Jennings

10. Gender, Race, Sexuality and PSEA - Junru Bian, Megan Daigle, Sarah Martin and Henri Myrttinen

11. ‘We Don’t Have a Word for That’: Issues in Translating PSEA Communication - Emily Elderfield and Ellie Kemp

12. From ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ to ‘Structural Sensitivity’ - Nour Abu-Assab

PART III: Looking Forward: Where to from Here?

13. Agency and Affect in PSEA: Understanding Agency through a Transnational Intersectional Lens - Nof Nasser-Eddin

14. Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Distribution of Humanitarian Aid - Alina Potts

15. Rethinking PSEA: Reflections for Policy Makers - Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“An impressive group of grittily knowledgeable contributors reveal the hard feminist lessons learned over the last 30 years of transforming UN and humanitarian organizations: lessons about stubbornly patriarchal institutional cultures, about implementation failures when gender inequity persists at the operational ground level and, crucially, why justice for women and girls in crisis zones is the sine qua non for sustainable peace.” Cynthia Enloe, Clark University

“This collection is essential reading for those of us working on questions of gender, power and violence in humanitarian and peacekeeping contexts. The volume challenges conventional boundaries and forges connections between scholars and practitioners.” Lucy Hall, University of Amsterdam

Editorial Reviews

An impressive group of grittily knowledgeable contributors reveal the hard feminist lessons learned over the last 30 years of transforming UN and humanitarian organizations: lessons about stubbornly patriarchal institutional cultures, about implementation failures when gender inequity persists at the operational ground level and, crucially, why justice for women and girls in crisis zones is the sine qua non for sustainable peace.” Cynthia Enloe, Clark University

“This collection is essential reading for those of us working on questions of gender, power and violence in humanitarian and peacekeeping contexts. The volume challenges conventional boundaries and forges connections between scholars and practitioners.” Lucy Hall, University of Amsterdam

From the Publisher