Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Research Articles

Banning sex: who pays the price? The effects of zero-tolerance policies on female peacekeepers

ABSTRACT The contested zero-tolerance policy of the United Nations (UN) regulates sexual relations between peacekeepers and civilians while on mission. Though the policy is intended to protect civilians from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), many have argued, conversely, that it exacerbates their precarity and undermines female sexual agency. This study pushes these debates further by examining how sexual regulatory frameworks endorsed by the UN directly and indirectly impact female peacekeepers. Drawing on interviews conducted with police officers, soldiers, and gendarmes, as well as elite decision makers across four countries (Ghana, Zambia, Uruguay, and Senegal), we argue that strict regulation of sexual behaviors can limit women’s ability to meaningfully participate in peacekeeping operations in two ways. First, it incentivizes and legitimizes domestic security institutions’ decisions to extend “protectionist” zero-tolerance policies to female peacekeepers. When taken to the extreme, these policies can be enforced through gender segregation models that marginalize women in the workplace. Second, banning sex with civilians can inversely channel sexual demands toward female peacekeepers. This can contribute to a hypersexualized work environment in which SEA and harassment is rife. These findings reinforce the need to reconsider policy frameworks governing sexual relations and raise urgent questions regarding the sexual agency of female peacekeepers.

A PROBLEM of RULES: Sexual Exploitation and UN Legitimacy

Abstract Twenty years ago, the UN adopted a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by its personnel. After prohibiting sex with children and the exchange of sex for “cash, food and things,” it “strongly discourages” sexual relationships with beneficiaries because “they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics” and undermine the UN’s credibility and integrity. Taking inspiration from the critical feminist project of understanding what happens when feminist ideas and projects become institutionalised, I consider the effectiveness and unintended consequences of the policy's discouraged relationships standard. I argue that by centring an “inherent power imbalance” between peacekeepers and local people, the policy undermines the UN’s capacity to meaningfully address that imbalance in practice. Moreover, the discouraged relationships standard diminishes the policy’s perceived legitimacy among staff, with ramifications beyond the prevention and punishment of sexual misconduct. Based on research in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Timor-Leste, Geneva, and New York, this article generates insights about the persistent challenges to preventing and punishing SEA and situates them in relation to broader questions around how international missions view and interact with local populations, and how this affects the integrity and effectiveness of their work.

The UN voluntary compact and peacekeeping abuse: assessing a soft law solution for sexual exploitation and abuse

ABSTRACT In 2017, to address the increasingly visible and prevalent occurrence of peacekeeper sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) of civilians under their protection, the UN Secretary-General created a Voluntary Compact on state behaviour. As of 2020, 103 states signed the agreement. Building on the robust literatures of human rights law, sexual abuse, and conflict, I examine whether signing the Voluntary Compact has any relationship with the levels of reported abuse, punishing accused SEA perpetrators, and funding victim relief efforts. Through quantitative analysis of annual reports of reports of SEA and punishment actions from the UN Conduct in Field Missions unit 2007–2019, I find that Troop Contributing Countries that signed were more likely to issue national-level punishments in cases of severe abuse and to contribute to victim funding. However, there is not a clear finding of any reduction of reported abuse following signature. I conclude by discussing the Voluntary Compact as a mixed-success story for soft international law so far. Given its lack of teeth, this finding is important as the UN and other international organisations continue to prevent and punish peacekeeper SEA and use nonbinding international law.

Love, sex, and Exchange in the Context of Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo

ABSTRACT The narrow framing of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and the United Nations Zero-Tolerance Policy inadequately accounts for the range of sexual interactions in peacekeeping contexts and obscures the wider social contexts within which sexual decision making occurs. We draw on personal narratives from women who have had such sexual interactions, as well as community observers to demonstrate the complexity, multiple forms and ambiguities that characterize these relationships. We focus particularly on ‘love’ and long-term relationships. The complexities revealed cast doubt on the efficacy and appropriateness of the UN’s zero-tolerance policy and call for a modification of the concept of the peacekeeping economy to include consideration of intimacy, emotion and quests to fulfil expectations of gendered social roles in the contradictory landscape of peacekeeping.

Transitional justice and the ongoing exclusion of sexual exploitation and abuse by international intervenors

Abstract Transitional justice has addressed only conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) while excluding sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). This exclusion persists despite both SEA and CRSV occurring during armed conflict, taking the same forms, impacting congruent victim populations, and falling within the Women, Peace and Security framework. SEA is perpetrated by international intervenors such as peacekeepers and aid workers. Excluding SEA denies victims a critical pathway to accountability and undermines prevention efforts for all forms of sexual violence. Using the original Gender Violence in Truth Commissions database, this article examines why SEA is excluded from transitional justice. To date, only two transitional justice mechanisms—the Sierra Leonian and Liberian truth commissions—have addressed SEA by intervenors. Analysis of these two exceptional cases reveals barriers to inclusion of SEA within transitional justice, including intervenor-involvement in transitional justice mechanisms, issues with SEA reporting and data, and dependency on media coverage and public outcry. The article concludes with policy recommendations for addressing SEA and CRSV as separate but related violations through transitional justice mechanisms, including truth commissions and reparations programmes.

Engaging refugee women and girls as experts: co-creating evidence on sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian crises using creative, participatory methods

Background:Humanitarian evidence is produced in settings of heightened power imbalances between research stakeholders. Yet evidence production processes often lack explicit reflection of who is shaping the questions asked and making meaning of the answers. Aims and objectives:Empowered Aid is participatory action research that seeks to mitigate sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated by aid actors. Refugee women and girls in Uganda and Lebanon, as experts on SEA risk, are engaged co-researchers in generating evidence on how to make aid distributions safer. Methods:Diverse creative processes are utilised to co-produce knowledge about SEA risks and strategies to reduce them. These same processes are used to reflect on power dynamics within the research process itself, local gender power dynamics, and structural power dynamics between aid actors and those receiving aid. Findings:Fifty-five Syrian and South Sudanese refugee women and girl co-researchers used ethnographic methods to document their and their peers’ lived experiences of SEA risks while accessing humanitarian aid. Creative methods including drawing, drama, storytelling, community mapping, and body mapping were applied during data collection and qualitative analysis, as well as in reflection and action analysis workshops. SEA was reported across all the types of aid studied, and these findings are being used to adapt aid distribution processes. Discussion and conclusions:Creative and participatory practices can address the barriers, such as illiteracy (including computer illiteracy) and lack of training, often cited as limiting researchers’ ability to share power with affected communities, and allow for greater co-production of knowledge and evidence.

UNsupported: The Needs and Rights of Children Fathered by UN Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers causes severe physical and psychological consequences. Where SEA leads to pregnancy and childbirth, peacekeepers typically absolve themselves of their paternal responsibilities and paternity suits are largely unsuccessful. The lack of support for peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) tarnishes the image of the UN who fails to implement a victim-centred approach to SEA. Analysing shortcomings in the provision of support, this article presents an evaluation of the UN’s accountability system from the perspective of PKFC families. In-depth interviews with thirty-five PKFC and sixty mothers demonstrate local barriers to child support and paternity claims in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We discuss PKFC’s need for assistance and their mothers’ attempts to navigate an opaque international legal system. The findings cast light on their limited access to UN subsidies and offer recommendations to better implement existing UN goals of justice and victim-oriented policies.

Inside Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons Camps: Safe Haven or Den of Marauders

In Nigeria, the internal displacement of civilians dates back to the era of the pogrom and attendant civil war in the 1960s. Subsequent cases were attributable to natural and human-made factors. The flare-up of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009 has over time caused the large-scale displacement of civilians in the northeast region. In line with humanitarian principles, the government created various camps to accommodate internally displaced persons (IDPs), where they could receive humanitarian assistance. This work examines harsh conditions in the camps, amid widespread shortages and abuses. It has been established that IDPs have been subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by state officials. Violations of this nature, which occur in the context of armed conflict, constitute crimes punishable under national and international laws. However, the government has not held anyone accountable, thus turning the IDP camps from safe haven to dens of predators. It is therefore recommended that individuals responsible for sexual abuses and other violations should be prosecuted. The government should rejig security, tackle corruption in the camps and ensure relief materials get to the IDPs. The government should address the conflict decisively to enable safe return of IDPs to their traditional homes.

Development of an Index to Measure the Exposure Level of UN Peacekeeper-Perpetrated Sexual Exploitation/Abuse in Women/Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) of women and girls by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers is an international concern. However, the typical binary measurement of SEA (indicating that it occurred, or it did not) disregards varying exposure levels and the complex circumstances surrounding the interaction. To address this gap, we constructed an index to quantify the degree to which local women and girls were exposed to UN-peacekeeper perpetrated SEA. Using survey data (n = 2867) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), eight indicators were identified using a combination of qualitative (thematic analysis of narrative data) and quantitative variables. With further development, this index may offer a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective of peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA that can better inform SEA prevention and intervention efforts.

\u201cIt was with my consent since he was providing me with money\u201d: a mixed methods study of adolescent perspectives on peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo

BackgroundThe United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has been marred by widespread allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) of women and girls by UN peacekeepers. There is minimal research conducted on the perceptions of communities most affected by the SEA themselves, and even less about those below the age of 18.MethodsUsing mixed-methods data, we examined the perceptions of adolescents aged 13–17 on how the lives of women and girls have been affected by the presence of UN peacekeepers within the DRC. SenseMaker, a mixed-methods narrative capture tool, was used to survey participants around six United Nations bases across eastern DRC. Each participant shared a story about the experiences of Congolese women and girls in relation to MONUSCO personnel and interpreted their own stories by answering a series of questions. Patterns of adolescent perspectives (aged 13–17) were analyzed in comparison to all other age groups and emerging qualitative themes were mapped onto quantitative variables.ResultsQuantitative data showed that adolescents were more likely, in comparison to all other age groups, to perceive interactions between peacekeepers and women/girls as being initiated by the woman/girl, that the MONUSCO personnel was perceived to be able to offer protection, and that the interactions between local women/girls and peacekeepers were sexual in nature. Three qualitative themes emerged: poverty bringing peacekeepers and women/girls together, material/financial gain through transactional sex and sex work, and support-seeking actions of affected women/girls.ConclusionsOur mixed methods data illustrate the problematic finding that adolescents facing poverty may perceive SEA as protective through the monetary and material support gained. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on peacekeeping economies and have implications for the prevention of, and response to, peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA.

‘MINUSTAH is doing positive things just as they do negative things’: nuanced perceptions of a UN peacekeeping operation amidst peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti

ABSTRACT Haiti’s instability at the turn of the millennium demanded unprecedented changes towards community-based peacekeeping strategies. While deemed successful by some in reducing actualised violence, the UN Peace Support Operation, MINUSTAH, was wrought with allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and mired by the inadvertent introduction of cholera. To understand the host community’s experiences with MINUSTAH, data was collected around seven UN bases from 10 locations in Haiti between June and August 2017. We find that Haitian perceptions on reporting, justice and responsibility for SEA are in juxtaposition with MINUSTAH’s efforts towards stabilisation and security. While participants identified positive perceptions of MINUSTAH that aligned with the novel community violence reduction strategy employed in Haiti, outstanding concerns around SEA remain. We recommend the UN addresses its environment of impunity, alters its practices and policies to be victim/survivor-centred and improve transparency and communication with host communities. The UN must make the systemic changes necessary to address impunity or provide reparations for peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA.

United Nations Policy on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Problematizations and Performances

The United Nations’(UN) response to reports of UN personnel perpetrating sexual violence proclaims “zero-tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA).” Drawing on Carol Bacchi's “what's the problem represented to be (WPR)?” framework, this article unpacks how UN policy solutions represent the problem of SEA. It explores the discursive effects of the UN's problematization of SEA drawing on Sara Ahmed's analysis of audit systems and non-performativity within performance cultures. It scrutinizes the Secretary-General's reports on SEA data and policy documents, including training and risk assessment materials. The analysis shows that UN policy problematizes SEA as transactional sex, inevitable in conditions of poverty and gender inequality. Solutions individualize perpetrators as rule-breakers subject to discipline and generalize victims as among the many impacted by SEA globally. Such solutions situate the UN as the answer to, rather than cause of, SEA and restore a narrative of the UN as defender of the vulnerable.

Participant and narrative characteristics associated with host community members sharing experiences of peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo

IntroductionPeacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) account for 36% of the global reports of formal SEA allegations to the UN between 2007 and...

"When It's a Girl, They Have a Chance to Have Sex With Them. When It's a Boy…They Have Been Known to Rape Them": Perceptions of United Nations Peacekeeper-Perpetrated Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Against Women/Girls Versus Men/Boys in Haiti.

Peacekeeping missions have been marred by reports of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against local community members. However, there is limited research on how SEA against women/girls versus men/boys is perceived in peacekeeping host societies. In 2017 we collected micro-narratives in Haiti and then conducted a thematic analysis to understand how peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA was perceived by local community members comparing SEA against women/girls versus SEA against men/boys. Both male and female participants used language which suggested the normalization, in Haitian society, of both transactional sex with and rape of women/girls by UN personnel. In contrast, peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA against men/boys was viewed as unacceptable and was associated with homosexuality and related stigmatization. Overall, our results suggest that in Haiti, inequitable gender norms, the commodification of female sexuality, and homophobia result in SEA against males being recognized as a wrong that elicits outrage, while SEA against women/girls has been normalized. It is important to address the normalization of SEA against women/girls to prevent future violence and to recognize that SEA is also perpetrated against men/boys. Survivor-centered programs, sensitive to the needs of both male and female survivors, are required.

UN Peacekeeping in Africa: A Critical Examination and Recommendations for Improvement by Kwame Akonor

The book titled ‘UN Peacekeeping in Africa: A Critical Examination and Recommendations for Improvement’, authored by Kwame Akonor,2 lays out a significant overview of the UN peace operations in the African region. The argument of this book revolves around those circumstances where the peacekeepers themselves become the perpetrators of crime; thereby, this book represents the ‘dark side’ of the U.N. peacekeeping, which remains a fundamental problem in jeopardizing the future of peacekeeping. By reviewing the reports and publications on UN Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA),3 Akonor discusses four factors regarding why abuses occur and why the abusers barely face criminal prosecution. The paramount factor in the book is the prevailing hyper-masculinity in the military culture and the tendency to protect each other against civilian complaints. The other two factors include the economic deprivation and variation in the legal and cultural system among the Troop Contributing Countries (TCC). Finally, the physical and psychological repercussions of conflict on civilians expose them to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA).

Gender-Stratified Analysis of Haitian Perceptions Related to Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Perpetrated by UN Peacekeepers during MINUSTAH

Feminist scholarship has analyzed the gendered dynamics of national- and international-level risk factors for peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA); however, the gendered dynamics within the host country have not been adequately considered. Using the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) as a case study, this research analyzes gender differences within community-level perceptions of SEA. Using SenseMaker® as a data collection tool, cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative data were collected by Haitian research assistants over an 8-week period in 2017. Participants first shared a narrative in relation to MINUSTAH and then self-interpreted their narratives by noting their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs on a variety of questions. The self-coded perceptions were analyzed quantitatively to determine patterns, and this was complemented with a qualitative analysis of the narratives. Women/girls were more likely to perceive the sexual interactions as “relationships” compared to Haitian men/boys. Furthermore, women/girls were more likely to perceive the peacekeeper as “supportive”, whereas men/boys conceptualized the peacekeeper as “authoritative”. SEA-related policies/programs, such as the UN Trust Fund in Support for Victims of SEA, should engage with local Haitian actors and consider such nuanced and gendered perceptions to maximize community trust and program efficacy.

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Intervention Forces in Central African Republic

Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) continues to undermine UN operations thereby affecting the efficacy of these interventions. This study investigating the extent of “allegations of SEA by intervention force with reference to UN intervention in contemporary African conflicts: A Case of Central Africa Republic (CAR).” This was a library-based research that relied on secondary data. Data was obtained from books, e-books, journals, UN publications and websites. The collected data was analysed thematically so as to establish the extent of allegations of sea by intervention force in CAR. The findings show that UN interventions force in CAR is faced with a myriad of challenges that affect its mandate execution. Much as there has been some positive output in MINUSCA operations, these successes have been shadowed by some of these challenges. SEA has been widespread in Central African Republic, though some of the allegations date before the UN intervention, the wide perception of the populace is that the UN forces are to blame. From the study it can also be concluded that the UN has its hands tied and has not been able to effectively enforce investigations by the TCCs since this a responsibility of the T/PCCs. Given the fact that the UN always faces a challenge of raising troops for PKOs it does not want to lose this ability further by blacklisting TCCs who fail to complete such investigations and punish the offenders. The system wide measures put in place in support of the ‘Zero tolerance” policy has not been effective. Since the study has established that SEA is a real challenge facing PKOs, there should also be effort to make sure that each country takes direct responsibility for the crimes perpetuated by their contingents and failure to complete investigations and conclude such cases should be enforced by strict penalties including banning from participation in PKOs.

Protection of Civilians and Peacekeeping’s Accountability Deficit

ABSTRACT Debates around performance and accountability are now front and centre in discussions around peacekeeping reform. Both concepts are prominent in the UN Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping Initiative, while the Security Council recently stressed the need to improve ‘posture, behaviour, leadership, initiative and accountability’ within peace operations. This paper explores the politics of the accountability debate and the prospects for improved peacekeeper accountability in the context of protection of civilians (PoC) mandates, with an understanding that civilians in conflict often need protection not only from conflict parties but also – as the struggles with sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) demonstrate – from peacekeepers themselves. While strengthened accountability mechanisms can help bridge the gap between the promise and the practice of protection, declining peacekeeping budgets and the amorphous and all-encompassing nature of PoC mandates complicate developing specific performance metrics and accountability mechanisms. Thus, while the UN has struggled to ensure misconduct accountability with regard to SEA, performance accountability represents a challenge of considerably greater magnitude. Absent serious consideration of the structural impediments involved, and the imperative of managing ambiguity, the accountability/performance debate may do little more than exacerbate tensions between those countries who staff peacekeeping missions and those who pay for them.

Predators among protectors: overcoming power abuse during humanitarian crisis through effective humanitarian diplomacy and a gender-transformative approach.

Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) is one of the most depraved crimes against humanity. When carried out by peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers, it depicts a catastrophic failure of protection bringing harm to the very people the United Nations and international organizations vow to protect. This paper has highlighted the various allegations and incidents of SEA repeatedly happening in conflict-affected countries. Allegations of SEA have since surfaced related to operations in Bosnia, Cambodia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kosovo, Cote d'Ivoire, Haiti, Sudan, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The symptoms of abuse survivors generally resemble those of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and SEA has significant health consequences and poses a severe threat to public health advancement. Based on the literature review, we propose that international and humanitarian organizations must ensure that these offences do not happen in the future by taking appropriate measures. These organizations must prioritize rigorous training on gender equality and values and include a basic mandatory test on gender equality before joining humanitarian missions. Since humanitarian diplomacy encompasses actions carried out by the humanitarian organizations to acquire space from military and political authorities within to function with integrity, we emphasize that strengthening humanitarian diplomacy can play a pivotal role to train the humanitarian workforce on best practices to reduce SEA. Besides, we further propose that women should be allowed to lead from the front; otherwise, true gender equality and issues relevant to gender, including SEA, will be challenging to attain.

‘They Were Going to the Beach, Acting like Tourists, Drinking, Chasing Girls’: A Mixed-Methods Study on Community Perceptions of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has been marred by reports of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated against local women/girls. However, there is very limited empirical evidence on the community’s perceptions regarding these sexual interactions. Through a mixed-methods approach, this article examines community experiences and perceptions of SEA, with three prominent themes arising: peacekeepers as tourists, peacekeepers as sexual exploiters and abusers, and peacekeepers as ideal partners. Uruguayan (n = 107, 28.1 per cent) and Brazilian personnel (n = 83, 21.8 per cent) were most commonly named in SEA narratives. We explore how these perceptions of MINUSTAH peacekeepers undermine the purpose and legitimacy of UN peace support operations, and propose strategies to prevent and address peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA.