My Experience at “Peacebuilding and Gender,” an Inter-University Event

2014年6月28日更新

(JCCP Secretary General Ishii presents a case study.)

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 28, 2014, I participated in “Peacebuilding and Gender,” an inter-university event organised by the Global Collaboration Center. The event aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of gender-based violence (GBV) in conflict situations by presenting cases from Africa. The event featured lectures by Secretary General Yukiko Ishii and Program Officer Yuki Bridget Saso of the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention (JCCP; certified NPO organization in Japan). The event also included group work among the 27 participants from various universities.

The event opened with an icebreaker where participants introduced each other. This was followed by two lectures. In “Gender as Seen through African Proverbs,” Secretary General Ishii surveyed Ghanaian and Somalian proverbs to show how gender norms have changed over time. She also discussed current trends in Africa and particularly the legal system, including the enactment this year of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act and Kenya’s new marriage law that legalizes polygamy.

In “What Is Peacebuilding?” Program Officer Saso focused on the concepts of peace, conflict, and peacebuilding as she presented an actual case study using visuals. The case study was JCCP’s psychosocial care program in Mathare slums, Nairobi. The program aims to build peace after the violence following the 2007 Kenyan presidential election.

(Participants enjoy the group work.)

The group work offered participants an opportunity to discuss gender-based violence in conflict situations. Taking the case of a woman who was a victim of GBV in a conflict situation, participants learned the five types of GBV and how to respond to GBV. The speaker pointed out that GBV has been used in recent conflict situations as a weapon of war and as a military tactic to break up communities. It made me think about the relationship between gender and militarization.

Another case that was particularly noteworthy was the next case presented—that of a male GBV survivor. In many African societies, homosexuality is seen as taboo and male GBV survivors are viewed as being in the same category. There are said to be many male survivors who refuse to speak about their experience. I shared my concern that the pain male survivors experience is unique and yet there is a danger that the issue will be ignored because they do not talk about it.

(The audience listens with keen interest.)

There was then a lecture on the support JCCP provides to GBV survivors at the camps in Puntland, Somalia, for internally displaced persons. From this, I gained a glimpse of JCCP’s strategy for delivering practical forms of assistance that are sensitive to the religions and customs of the region.

There was an active exchange of views throughout the event. People who are just starting peacebuilding and gender studies must certainly have found that their interest grew. For those who have already studied peacebuilding in depth, the event was a valuable opportunity to learn about JCCP’s activities in Africa and to learn how their staff approaches their work.

（Chizuru Nakamura, Master’s Program, 2nd year Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences）