1.

Introduction

Violence against women has been an instrument of fear for thousands of years in
different conflicts, even within the same factions. This type of violence is not only
supported by the absence of women among the different decision-making positions, but
there are much more rooted causes that must be studied. In the first place, it is vital to
refer to the documentary as the source of the development of this essay: what is shown
is the result of several blue helmets raping women in peace keeping missions. However,
the "lesser evil" (rape) is not taken into account as much as it should be as it seems that
the main objective, peace keeping, is fulfilled.

According to Karim and Beardsley (2016), there are not few abuses of these
characteristics that have been reported in UN peacekeeping missions. Starting with the
missions in Cambodia, it was later extended to missions such as Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Congo ...

It is striking that this occurs within an organization that has been quite interested since
the end of the 20th century in the protection of minorities or especially vulnerable
groups, specializing and making Resolution 1325 (on women and peace and security)
recommended here for reading.

2. Resolutions and measures

In the first of the Resolutions, from 1999, the need to protect women against problems
expressly related to gender and patriarchal behaviour, such as rape or sexual
exploitation in terms of prostitution, is clearly expressed. Later, in Resolution 1325, it
begins to speak of the need to incorporate women into representation and decision-
making processes, as well as their appearance in other processes. The importance of
adding a gender dimension to approaches related to international relations and conflict
management is also discussed.

However, it is the groups themselves called to keep the peace who, despite achieving
the objective that are asked of them, commit abuses of a sexist character that other
warlike groups stop the women whom, in theory, they are obliged to protect. It seems
clear that the United Nations should rethink decisions and new programs to address
these issues.

Beyond the problems posed for women by the concern that those who must protect
their peoples violate them, this can also have a great impact on the legitimacy of the
different troops and the organization in general among the population. affected. That
the envoys and representatives of the United Nations exercise abuses of power such as
those that are being explained in the video, and in many other places, will have a clearly
negative effect on the vision that the people helped have of the organization in question.
 3. Solutions

Karim and Beardsley (2016) establish two different lines of improvement in this area.
One of them, related to the presence of women in this type of conflict. A second, the
importance that those who enter the recruitment processes are men and women who
have a training and a broad understanding of gender equality.

Exploring the second line is important since, as argued in the previously mentioned
study, the mere presence of women in these processes does not have to guarantee the
decrease in sexual assaults, since, due to phenomena such as corporatism, it is not
considered what to ensure that these attacks do not occur or cover up. In addition, the
only thing that would be achieved would be to modify the number of men present, and
not end the problem of gender dynamics at its roots. In this way, it would only alleviate
the problem and contribute to a true gender perspective.

Therefore, the incorporation of people trained in gender equality is key to reducing and
eliminating the radical problem. Although this is closely related to what is explained in
Resolution 1325 of the need for a gender perspective, this proposal is seen as something
more realistic and materialized in measures: adding a gender perspective when making
decisions can be useful, but as long as this is not materialized in training and education
for all those who do field work (military personnel in specific geographic locations),
situations of sexual abuse will continue to exist.

The militarized hegemonic masculinity, mentioned in Karim and Beardsley (2016) could
be closely related to the systematic sexual abuse committed against women even by
blue helmets, according to many feminist sociological and anthropological studies. Male
socialization as a product of the use of destructive tools (Mies, 2019), with its
consequent evolution towards weapons, sustained women as the first element of men's
private property. Building women's bodies as such property through destructive, then
militarized means, can fuel abuses of power (in sexual form) by UN members during
peacekeeping missions.

4. Conclusion

As it can be seen, this is more than a “representation” problem. This is a radical problem
which revolves around socialization, perceptions and historical roots. The presence of
women in institutions is an important step, but will not work against sexual abuses if no
other things are done: a structural change regarding gender equality is needed. The UN
should not only study the importance of women in conflict resolution, of a gender
perspective (by far needed, of course) in peace keeping, but also address structural
problematics regarding the military, violence and dynamics between men and within
women in case of corporativism.
Bibliography

Karim, S., & Beardsley, K. (2016). Explaining sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping
missions: The role of female peacekeepers and gender equality in contributing countries. Journal
of Peace Research, 53(1), 100-115. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43920585

Mies, M. (2019). Patriarcado y acumulación a escala mundial. Traficantes de sueños.

UN Security Council, Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) [on women and peace and
security], 31 October 2000, S/RES/1325 (2000), available at:
https://www.refworld.org/docid/3b00f4672e.html [accessed 13 May 2021]

UN Secretary-General (UNSG), Secretary-General's Bulletin: Observance by United Nations

Forces of International Humanitarian Law, 6 August 1999, ST/SGB/1999/13, available at:
https://www.refworld.org/docid/451bb5724.html [accessed 13 May 2021]