How do women mobilize against conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV)? How do such women activists understand the nature and causes of this violence, and what can we learn from these insights? This policy brief explores patterns of women’s civil society mobilization around CRSV in Colombia, looking particularly at these women’s perceptions of CRSV. It reveals that civil society activists link CRSV first and foremost to gender inequality and patriarchal norms in society. In contrast to the globally dominant understanding of CRSV as a weapon of war that stems purely from conflict dynamics and war strategy, these activists understand sexual violence in the private sphere and that perpetrated in war as on a continuum, entrenched in patriarchal norms and gender inequalities.
Kreft, Anne-Kathrin (2019) How Does Civil Society Understand Conflict-Related Sexual Violence? Perspectives from women activists in Colombia, GPS Policy Brief, 3. Oslo: PRIO.
