Gender analysis of conflict

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition that to understand the nature of conflict and design effective responses, peacebuilders must consider gender. The different roles and behaviours of women, men and sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) affect the way that conflicts play out, as well as the impacts they have on people’s lives.

This toolkit for gender analysis of conflict is intended to help national and international non-governmental organisations and other peacebuilding practitioners to integrate gender perspectives into conflict analysis, providing a foundation for more gender-sensitive peacebuilding programmes.

While there are many different ways in which the links between gender and conflict can be analysed, this toolkit focuses on one angle which is often ignored. It seeks to understand how gender norms – the ways in which societies pressure their male and female members to behave – can either drive conflict and insecurity or be resources for peace.

Download Gender analysis of conflict toolkit.

Saferworld’s toolkit is designed to be complementary to Conciliation Resources’ Gender and conflict analysis toolkit for peacebuilders, which can be downloaded here.

A draft of the toolkit was piloted in Moroto District, North Eastern Uganda in March 2016. You can reading the findings of that analysis here.

Watch a video from the pilot work in Uganda here.

Find out more about Saferworld's work on gender, peace and security.

“[This toolkit] seeks to understand the ways in which gender norms – that is, understandings of masculinity and femininity – can either drive conflict and insecurity or be resources for peace.”

Saferworld, Uganda Land Alliance