How do we queer the Women, Peace and Security agenda?

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5 Key Recommendations

 

 

My research area is queering security studies. To ground this research in day-to-day practices, I consider how the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda can better include LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer) voices in gender, peace and security initiatives. My work bridges academic, activist and policy approaches to include a gender perspective in peace and security responses in conflict-relation environments.  A central component of my research methodology is centering feminist and queer civil society actors already doing this work.

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My forthcoming book Queering, Women, Peace and Security (2022) reflects on how WPS practitioners understand supporting lesbian, bisexual and transgender women as a part of WPS work, and also looks to LGBTQ organizations to help define next steps for how to best collaborate across often siloed networks.

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I have had the opportunity to present this work at numerous academic conferences including the International Studies Association, the International Feminist Journal of Politics, and the British International Studies Association. I have also been invited to consult and offer feedback on policy initiatives for UNDP, the UK National Action Plan, the Center for Feminist Foreign Policy and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Select articles, blog posts, interviews and policy briefs: 

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'Queering Women, Peace & Security in Colombia' 

Critical Studies on Security, 2017

 

​This piece considers the importance of the inclusion of LGBT organizations in the Colombia peace accords and what this means for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in future WPS initiatives. It was published as a part of the Interventions section about queer/ing in/securities. Read here. 

 

'Queering Women, Peace & Security'

International Affairs, 2016

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Feminist security studies and emerging queer theory in international relations provide a framework to incorporate a gender perspective in WPS work that moves beyond a narrow, binary understanding of gender to begin to capture violence targeted at the LGBTQ population, particularly in efforts to address SGBV in conflict-related environments. The article explores how a queer security analysis reveals the part heteronormativity and cisprivilege play in sustaining the current gap in analysis of gendered violence. Read here. 

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Interview: Charlotte Bunch is Important, Autostraddle 2012

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For more podcasts, webinars and lectures visit my media page.

Include LGBTQ people in developing, implementing, and monitoring WPS projects

1.

Expand indicators to include sexual orientation and gender identity

2.

Define women and gender as two distinct terms

3.

Collect data about LGBTQ individuals in conflict

4.

Engage with UN independent monitor for LGBT violence and discrimination

5.

Related work by others:​

Read the full LSE WPS Policy Brief: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity as a part of the WPS Project