The Impact of Mines and Explosive Remnants of War on Gender Groups
Publisher: UK Department for International Development
Author(s): Edward Laws
Date: 2017
Topics: Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Gender, Protection and Access to Justice, Weapons, Waste, and Pollution
Countries: Cambodia, Colombia, Sudan
There is an increasing recognition in the international community that different gender groups are affected differently by the threat posed by the presence of mines/ERWs in their communities. Women, girls, boys and men often have distinct gendered roles and responsibilities within a community. Consequently, their exposure to and knowledge of mine/ERW threats will differ, as will their experience as survivors or as carers for those in their family or community who have been injured.
According to the most recent available data, in 2015 women and girls made up 14% of all casualties of mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) where the sex was known; representing a slight increase on the numbers in recent years. Although the majority of reported casualties are male, women and girls may be disproportionally disadvantaged as a result of mine/ERW incidents and suffer multiple forms of discrimination as survivors. Gender not only impacts the likelihood of becoming a victim of mines and ERWs, but also structures the ways in which individuals access medical care, reintegrate into society after being injured, and access mine-risk education.
The relevance of gender has only recently been integrated into the thinking and practice of stakeholders working in the area of mine action. The main treaties regulating general mine action activities (the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its additional Protocol II) do not explicitly discuss the different impact landmines and ERW can have on women, men, girls and boys. However, there is now a clear awareness in the international community that failing to consider the significance of gender in the impact of mines/ERWs, and in the effectiveness of mine action, can increase the risk of individuals being exposed to physical harm, poverty and destitution.