The Missing Peace Initiative presents:
COVID-19 and Conflict-related Sexual Violence: Relationships and Implications for Research
29 June - 2 July 2020
Hosted virtually by the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration at the Institute for Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis
With
Missing Peace Scholars Workshop Sessions
Exploring the relationship between COVID-19 and conflict-related sexual violence, including implications for current and future research
29 June - 1 July 2020
Welcome
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to our first virtual Missing Peace Scholars Workshop. As many of you know, we had hoped to welcome you all to Washington University this summer. COVID-19 had other plans. So, while we cannot sit together in person, we hope that this four-day virtual workshop will still provide a wonderful opportunity to connect as a community of researchers focused on conflict-related sexual violence. This year, we will also explore the relationship(s) between COVID-19 and conflict-related sexual violence. How is the pandemic impacting our communities of concern? What are its practical and ethical implications for research?
To start, scholars will spend Monday sharing their recent or planned work with peers in informal and supportive breakout sessions. Tuesday and Wednesday, we will have roundtable discussions with Washington University faculty and external experts to learn more about COVID-19, explore its relationship to conflict-related sexual violence, and think together on its implications for our current and future research.
Finally, on Thursday, we will conclude the week with a public event that will help link policy, practice, and research. We will hear from UN Special Representative to the Secretary General for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, and an expert from the Mukwege Foundation about their work and current information needs. Representatives of the Missing Peace Scholars’ Network will then highlight new research from our group (and others) and reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on the work we do and the communities we engage.
This webpage offers a snapshot of the agenda and biographies of the Missing Peace Scholars, guest experts, and workshop organizers and staff. Full biographies and research summaries can be found in the traditional program book we will circulate via email. You will see that one of the silver linings of holding our meeting virtually this year is that we are able to engage so many more members of the Missing Peace Network - we look forward to both welcoming and reuniting so many Scholars from different cohorts and different countries. See you Monday.
Ms. Kim Thuy Seelinger, JD
Director, Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration | Research Associate Professor, Brown School | Visiting Professor, School of Law | Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast
Director, Gender Policy and Strategy | United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat
President | Women In International Security (WIIS)
Dr. Inger Skjelsbæk
Researcher Professor II | Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO)
The Missing Peace Initiative
Conflict-related sexual violence is increasingly recognized as a threat to international peace and security. From violent extremists in Syria to conflicts in the Balkans, the Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor and Guatemala, state and non-state armed actors have used sexual violence against women, men, and children to intimidate and terrorize populations. It has served to displace people from contested territory, destroy communities, and silence victims. Even after these wars have ended, sexual violence often goes unaddressed. This, in turn, undermines reconstruction efforts and the transition to more stable, secure, and peaceful societies.
Initiatives to prevent or mitigate these violent acts continue to fall short. Even with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolutions and important rulings in international criminal courts, existing international interventions may lack an integrated understanding of the causes of sexual violence and its long-term implications for societies at large.
The Missing Peace Initiative was born in 2012 as a collaboration between Kathleen Kuehnast (USIP), Chantal de Jonge Oudraat (SIPRI-North America at the time, currently Women in International Security), Inger Skjelsbæk (Peace Research Institute of Oslo), and Kim Thuy Seelinger (Human Rights Center, Univ. of California, Berkeley, School of Law at the time, currently at the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration at Washington University).
The Initiative held its first major convening in February 2013, bringing together a group of scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and military and civil society actors to USIP in Washington, D.C. Together, these diverse experts examined the issue of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings, identified gaps in knowledge and reporting, and explored how to increase the effectiveness of current responses to such violence.
The Missing Peace Initiative continues to build on that first symposium. An on-the-ground training for practitioners from the Global South was held in August 2015 in Kampala, Uganda, as part of the Human Rights Center’s work on accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected settings. Additionally, in December 2017, the Missing Peace Initiative held an international conference in Oslo, Norway, where scholars discussed international criminal prosecution of conflict-related sexual violence and its impacts on peacebuilding.
The Missing Peace Scholars Network
The Missing Peace Initiative also supports new research on conflict-related sexual violence through its Missing Peace Scholars Network.
Some of the most innovative research on sexual violence is being undertaken by scholars currently in PhD programs or just recently minted PhDs who spend months or even years researching, analyzing and writing about the complex and difficult aspects of understanding and preventing conflict-related sexual violence. These scholars are frequently on the cutting edge of data collection methodologies and have important insights to share with the broader academic, practice, and policy communities.
However, these same scholars are often isolated at their home institutions due to their specialized focus on conflict-related sexual violence. They also often face challenges in communicating and disseminating the results of their research to policy and practitioner communities.
The Missing Peace Scholars Network was formed in 2013 to support the professional development of emerging scholars focused on conflict-related sexual violence and the dissemination of their work. With their combined resources and networks in academia, policymaking and non-governmental communities, the Missing Peace Initiative organizers identify PhD candidates and recently minted PhDs, inviting them to share their research and build connections within the broader community of researchers focused on conflict-related sexual violence. Annual workshops provide an opportunity for peer feedback, collaboration, and skill-building.
The objectives of the June 2020 workshop are to:
- Exchange feedback on Network members’ current research;
- Examine the state of literature on sexual violence in conflict and identify gaps, challenges and emerging questions;
- Reflect on the implications of COVID-19 for communities of concern and future research agendas, including the challenges, strategies, and ethics of conducting research on CRSV during and after the pandemic;
- Plan the 2020 USIP special report, which should expand on this week’s learning.
Missing Peace Scholars Network Workshop Participants 2020
Ms. Jessica Anania, DPhil Candidate at the University of Oxford, UK
Dr. Pearl Karuhanga Atuhaire, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Specialist, UN Women, Liberia
Ms. Margaret Avera, PhD Candidate, University of New Mexico, USA
Mr. Ali Bitenga, Researcher at International Center for Advanced Research and Training, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dr. Dara Cohen, Associate Professor of Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA
Dr. Kerry Crawford, Associate Professor of Political Science, James Madison University, USA
Ms. Jillian Foster, PhD Candidate, Yale University, USA
Dr. Renata Giannini, Senior Researcher, Igarapé Institute, Brazil
Ms. Judy Gitau, Equality Now, Regional Coordinator, Africa, Kenya
Dr. Laura Huber, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Government, Cornell University, USA
Dr. Sabrina Karim, Hardis Family Faculty Fellow Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University, USA
Dr. Jocelyn Kelly, Director of Gender, Rights and Resilience Program, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, USA
Dr. Milli Lake, Associate Professor, International Relations Department, London School of Economics, UK
Dr. Michele Leiby, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Wooster, USA
Dr. Chloé Lewis, Researcher, Changing Character of War Centre, University of Oxford, UK
Ms. Alicia Luedke, PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia, Canada
Ms. Lydia Muthiani, Human Rights Lawyer and Consultant, Kenya
Mr. Farid Muttaqin, PhD Candidate, State University of New York, USA
Dr. Robert Nagel, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, USA
Ms. Grace Ndirangu, Humanitarian Aid for HIAS, Nairobi, Kenya
Mr. Onen David Ongwech, Gender and Sexuality Program Manager, Refugee Law Project, School of Law at Makerere University, Uganda
Dr. Amber Peterman, Research Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Dr. Carrie Reiling, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Washington College, USA
Dr. Chen Reis, Clinical Associate Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, USA
Ms. Luissa Vahedi, PhD Candidate, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Dr. Torunn Wimpelmann, Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway
Dr. Milli Lake
Assistant Professor of International Security, Department of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Co-Director, Advancing Research on Conflict (ARC) Consortium and Co-Director, Women’s Rights After War project
PhD in Political Science, University of Washington
Dr. Chen Reis
Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Humanitarian Assistance program, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, USA
Director, Humanitarian Assistance program, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the University of New South Wales
Guest Experts
Workshop Sessions, 29 June to 1 July 2020
Ms. Belquis Ahmadi, U.S. Institute of Peace
Dr. Amanda Blair, Research Officer, U.S. Institute of Peace
Ms. Sofia Candeias, UN Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict
Ms. Jessica Caplin, UNHCR - Iraq
Dr. Elvin Geng, Washington University School of Medicine
Prof. Zahara Nampewo, Makerere University
Dr. Rupa Patel, Washington University School of Medicine
Dr. Lindsay Stark, Brown School of Social Work, Public Health and Social Policy at Washington University
COVID-19 and Conflict-related Sexual Violence: Relationships and Implications for Research
Discussion with policymakers, practitioners, and researchers
Public Event held on Thursday, 2 July 2020
How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting vulnerability to and protection from conflict-related sexual violence? What ethical and practical implications does the pandemic have for researching conflict-related sexual violence?
The Missing Peace Initiative was formed in 2012 to connect policymakers, practitioners, and academics to strengthen understanding of and evidence-based response to conflict-related sexual violence.
On Thursday, 2 July 2020, the Missing Peace Initiative hosted a discussion with leading experts to explore the relationship between COVID-19 and conflict-related sexual violence. Featured panelists included Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Ms. Dominique Vidale-Plaza, Gender-based Violence Specialist from the Mukwege Foundation. Their remarks were followed by insights from academic experts Dr. Torunn Tryggestad, Dr. Lindsay Stark, and Dr. Michele Leiby.
Watch the recorded webinar below and learn more about the featured panelists.
Panelists
Missing Peace Initiative Steering Committee
Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast, Director, Gender Policy and Strategy, U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP)
Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, President, Women In International Security (WIIS)
Ms. Kim Thuy Seelinger, JD, Director, Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration (CHRGM); Research Associate Professor (Brown School); Visiting Professor (Law), Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Inger Skjelsbæk, Research Professor II, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
Dr. Torunn L. Tryggestad, Director, PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security
Workshop Staff
Ms. Inshira Bediako, Intern, Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration
Mr. Matthew Ho, Intern, Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration
Ms. Danielle Robertson, Program Officer, Gender Policy and Strategy, U.S. Institute of Peace
Ms. Rachel Sedehi, Gender and Global Security Program Assistant, Women in International Security
Ms. Julia Uyttewaal, Center Manager and Lead Researcher, Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration