Department of Theology
Master’s Program in Humanitarian Action and Conflict
De(ter)mined?
A Qualitative Research of Gender Mainstreaming Practices in Humanitarian Mine Action in Ukraine
Author: Sophia Katharina Gajan
Supervisor: Sabina Hadžibulić, Ph.D., Stockholm University May 2021
This thesis is submitted for obtaining the Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action and Conflict. By submitting the thesis, the author certifies that the text is from her hand, does not include the work of someone else unless clearly indicated, and that the thesis has been produced in accordance with proper academic practices.
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List of Abbreviations
APMBC Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction
ERW Explosive Remnants of War GCA Government Controlled Area HMA Humanitarian Mine Action IDPs Internally Displaced People
EORE Explosive Ordnance Risk Education NGCA Non-Government Controlled Area NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
GICHD Geneva International Centre on Humanitarian Demining
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Abstract
Ukraine belongs to the most landmine contaminated countries in the world. Therefore, humanitarian mine action (HMA) is an important area of work for Ukraine’s humanitarian protection cluster. In Ukraine, landmine contamination produces gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities. Casualties are predominantly men, while the affected population has a high proportion of vulnerable people, including women, the elderly, displaced and the disabled.
This study investigates which strategies were applied by organisations in the Ukraine’s mine action sub-cluster in order to respond to gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities to landmine contamination and by empowering vulnerable groups through their programmes. It is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives of HMA operators and international organisations in Ukraine.
The main findings are that HMA operators in Ukraine considered gender and diversity to reach marginalised groups for operational purposes, such as internally displaced people (IDPs) and the elderly, by conducting household visits and deploying diverse teams. While operators adopted an evidence-based approach to explosive ordnance risk education (EORE), programmes predominantly focused on children, despite the largest at-risk group being adult men. More than in operations, gender mainstreaming was visible in operators’ efforts to offer equal employment opportunities in the HMA sector, supporting the affected population socio-economically. However, for meaningful participation in decision making in the sector, more time and continuous effort is required to help women advance even further into senior roles of impact.
Challenges to adequately mainstream gender were the lack of a centralised information management system and difficulties accessing the affected population. Particularly since early 2020, gender mainstreaming in community interaction has been severely limited due to COVID-19 related contact restrictions. Technological solutions were identified as the main opportunity for continued community interaction and EORE amid these access restrictions.
4 Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations 2
Abstract 3
1. Introduction 5
1.1. Background 5
1.2. Research goals and questions 6
1.3. Previous research 7
1.3.1. Gender mainstreaming in demining operations 7
1.3.2. Gender mainstreaming for women’s participation 8
1.3.3. Obstacles and opportunities to gender mainstreaming in HMA 10
1.4. Research relevance 11
1.5. Limitations 11
1.6. Thesis outline 12
2. Conceptual framework 13
2.1. Human security 13
2.2. Gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities 14
2.3. A gendered human security framework for humanitarian mine action 16 2.3.1. Providing protection through operational effectiveness 16 2.3.2. Providing empowerment through meaningful participation 18
3. Method 20
3.1. Method choice 20
3.2. Research sample 20
3.3. Ethical considerations 21
3.4. Validity, reliability and generalisability 21
4. Analysis 22
4.1. Gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities from contamination in Ukraine 22 4.2. Strategies of gender mainstreaming in demining operations 25 4.2.1. Gender mainstreaming in community interaction for clearance 25 4.2.2. Gender mainstreaming in explosive ordnance risk education 27 4.3. Strategies of gender mainstreaming for women’s empowerment 30 4.3.1. Empowerment through women’s economic participation 30 4.3.2. Empowerment through participation in decision-making 32 4.4. Obstacles and opportunities of gender mainstreaming 33
5. Concluding discussion 35
Bibliography 37
Appendices 40
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1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Ukraine ranks shockingly high in terms of landmine contamination, as the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk are severely affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW).
While some remnants are unpleasant reminders of World Wars I and II, most contamination results from the ongoing Donbas conflict (Crowther, 2019; The Monitor, 2021). Albeit in violation of the Minsk Ceasefire Agreement, landmine placing continues by the parties to the conflict, not only along the contact line but also in populated areas close to civilian infrastructure (Crowther, 2019; Mine Action Review, 2020). On the global scale, Ukraine was listed third among countries with the greatest total landmine/ERW casualties in 2017 and second for the greatest anti-vehicle mine casualties in 2018 (SIPRI, 2018; ICBL, 2018).
Also in 2020, civilians continued to compose the majority of victims (DDG, 2021).
Around two million people live in the conflict-affected region in eastern Ukraine, 400,000 of whom are exposed to high landmine contamination. Women and marginalised groups, such as the elderly, disabled and displaced, are especially represented (REACH, 2021). In 2020, landmines/ERW were the second leading cause of civilian casualties after shelling, with men being disproportionately affected across all age groups (OSCE SMM, 2020, Appendix 1;
DDG 2021). In addition to the direct threat of injury or death, landmines/ERW have a detrimental impact on the livelihood and socio-economic development of the affected population, particularly for the surviving family members and caretakers, who are often women (The Monitor, 2021; JOURNAL, 2008b). Indeed, in 2020, the percentage of households reporting that landmine contamination severely affected their everyday lives had doubled to 18% from 9% in the preceding year (REACH, 2021).
It follows that humanitarian mine action (HMA) remains a core task of the humanitarian protection cluster in east Ukraine. Distinct from military mine action, HMA
“aims to clear land so that civilians can return to their homes and their everyday routines without the threat of explosive hazards [and] to restore peace and security at the community level” (UNMAS, 2021).
6 By understanding how landmine contamination affects women, men, boys and girls differently, demining operators and the protection cluster can tailor their activities to the specific needs of different gender groups, an approach commonly known as gender mainstreaming, which the United Nations define as
“the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action in all areas and at all levels. It is a way to make women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs so that women and men benefit equally, preventing the perpetuation of inequality.” (UNMAS, 2019, p.66)
In recent years, gender mainstreaming has become an acknowledged tool to deliver more effective and more targeted responses in HMA (Canfield and McCoull, 2008; Hofmann et al., 2016). Thus, sensitivity and responsiveness to gender are essential to HMA in every context, and Ukraine is no exception. However, Ukraine’s national mine action infrastructure remains largely under construction, neither having a national gender and diversity policy nor an implementation plan on mine action, leaving the task of gender mainstreaming mainly in the hands of organisations in the mine action sub-cluster (Mine Action Review, 2020).
Therefore, this research aims to study how operators have mainstreamed gender in HMA in Ukraine, and which obstacles and opportunities they encountered.
1.2. Research goals and questions
Since prior research on this topic remains limited, this study aspires to increase the knowledge on how gender has been mainstreamed in HMA in Ukraine, in line with the international recommendations for implementing gender mainstreaming in mine action (APMBC, 2019, UNMAS, 2019). As such, the following three research questions are investigated:
1. What are the gendered insecurities and gendered vulnerabilities from landmine contamination in east Ukraine?
2. Which gender mainstreaming strategies have been deployed by organisations in the Ukrainian mine action sub-cluster?
7 3. What are the opportunities and obstacles that organisations have encountered for
mainstreaming gender in HMA in Ukraine?
1.3. Previous research
As the starting point for connecting HMA and gender, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) underlines the necessity “to ensure that mine clearance and mine awareness programmes take into account the special needs of women and girls” (UNSCR 1325 (2000) p.2). In line with this, through several case studies, previous research has shown that gender mainstreaming in HMA serves a dual purpose: responding to gendered insecurities in operations while simultaneously enhancing women’s participation and empowerment (Canfield and McCoull, 2008).
1.3.1. Gender mainstreaming in demining operations
Several case studies show that demining operations can benefit from gender mainstreaming.
This thesis will focus on two of the five pillars of mine action: clearance and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE)1, which are the pillars most established in HMA in Ukraine.
With regards to clearance, gender is relevant during the data collection and prioritisation process for landmine removal. Canfield and McCoull (2008) highlight that a gender analysis of the distinct lifestyles of women, girls, boys and men help identify key informants when collecting information about the contamination. In Jordan, for example, on their daily walk to fetch water, women were able to identify the placement of mines previously unknown to the male population (Canfield and McCoull, 2008). Particularly landmine victims can be crucial key informants when mapping contamination (GICHD, 2021). The planning of community interaction with the inclusion of gender considerations of access and mobility results in better data collection, which often defines the success of HMA (Canfield and McCoull, 2008). Several case studies reflect that female or mixed-gender survey teams facilitate access to communities and information gathering as traditional gender norms might hinder men to consult with women in certain contexts (JOURNAL, 2008a; Massleberg, 2010;
1 All five pillars of Mine Action include Clearance, EORE, Victim Assistance, Advocacy and Stockpile Destruction (UNMAS, 2021).
8 Calza Bini, Janssen and Jones, 2014). It follows that for clearance, community interaction lies at the core of gender mainstreaming.
For EORE, disaggregated data by sex, age, location and activity of accidents is crucial to tailor sessions to specific groups and unsafe behaviour. Since women and men’s lifestyles and daily tasks differ in many cultures, the frequency and reasons for accidents often vary depending on the gender of victims (Massleberg, 2010). Importantly, several scholars point out that gender should not be equated with women only, but that it equally refers to men (Wallacher, 2007). Since men compose most global landmine/ERW victims, EORE must adequately address men and boys at all stages to effectively reduce accidents (Wallacher, 2007; Jones and Breili, 2015). However, due to limited access, resources and/or mobility, women might encounter more obstacles than men to attend EORE sessions, requiring differential strategies for reaching marginalised groups and for conveying knowledge (Massleberg, 2010). For example, the Afghan Red Crescent Society trained and deployed women as mine awareness officers to conduct EORE particularly for women and their specific risks (Massleberg, 2010). Another effective approach identified was child-to-child EORE, where children directly or indirectly affected by landmines educated their peers through creative methods. This was a particularly effective way for teaching safe behaviour to children, as sessions were adapted to literacy level and the audience could relate with their educators (Horsley, 2015). Depending on the gender and age of the audience, by accounting for the questions of how, where and by whom EORE is conducted, gender mainstreaming can contribute to its effectiveness. In addition to these operational advantages for clearance and EORE, the protection of women from landmines accidents goes hand in hand with their participation in the employment sector as well as in decision making in HMA.
1.3.2. Gender mainstreaming for women’s participation
Gender mainstreaming has been used to foster women’s participation in economic activity as well as in decision making in the HMA sector.
While landmine contamination has a devastating impact on the livelihood of an affected region, Mills (2008) underlines that poverty in turn “remains the main driving force behind unsafe behaviour” resulting in landmine accidents. It follows that affected communities often rely on demining operators for their household incomes, being employed, e.g., as deminers,
9 educators, team leaders or in support roles (Mills, 2008). Having fewer assets than men, women tend to be more affected by socio-economic consequences as direct and indirect landmine victims (Durham, 2008). Thus, employment in the HMA sector can empower women socio-economically by providing stable salaries, new transferable skills and career opportunities (JOURNAL, 2008a; Biscaglia et al., 2018). However, since traditional mine action relied on military personnel and expertise, the sector has almost exclusively employed men in the past (Wallacher, 2007). While the demining workforce has become more diverse over the years with the gradual recruitment of female deminers, Canfield and McCoull (2008) criticise the persistence of inadvertent discrimination. In response, they recommend removing indirect barriers to women’s equal employment opportunities, e.g. by considering childcare responsibilities and providing facilities separated by gender.
With regards to participation in decision-making processes, gender mainstreaming can increase women’s impact on clearance priorities, as well as their representation among senior positions in the sector. In terms of prioritisation, the voices of women and marginalised groups tend to be less heard in discussions on resources allocation (Canfield and McCoull, 2008). For example, Wallacher (2007) witnessed that women had a low influence on prioritisation in Cambodia due to a lack of resources to assess women-specific risks, lacking cooperation with local women’s groups, as well as a bias against the competence of women’s ability to contribute to HMA. While prioritisation has been increasingly linked to socio- economic impact, researchers have criticised the developmental lens as insufficient.
Clearance will only be sustainable when integration of a gender perspective maximises the
“positive impacts on all community members in an equitable way” (Massleberg, 2010, p.37).
For example, in South Sudan, all-male attendance at community meetings was compensated by separately scheduled household visits with women and girls. As a result, it was possible to understand additional land uses and women’s increased influence on prioritisation for clearance in a way that was more sustainable to the affected community (Massleberg, 2010).
With regards to employing women in the demining sector, Wallacher (2007) urges the community to move beyond merely providing women with income, but also to encourage their participation in senior decision-making positions where their perspectives can have a unique impact. In fact, research suggests that women’s increased participation has a
10 transformative potential for change and progress towards gender equality, as more women employed in the HMA sector would act as role models and motivate “to challenge patriarchal traditions of a particular region” (Canfield and McCoull, 2008, p.3). Lebanese and Colombian women employed in the HMA sector reported gaining more respect and decision- making power in their households, particularly regarding financial expenditures (Biscaglia, et al., 2018). Indeed, Hofmann et al. (2016) emphasise that gender mainstreaming in HMA can impact the definition of security and foster women’s participation in the wider security sector and beyond.
1.3.3. Obstacles and opportunities to gender mainstreaming in HMA
Several case studies have identified challenges of mainstreaming gender in HMA. Due to the limited scope of this thesis, however, only the most frequently encountered obstacle and opportunity will be outlined.
The misunderstanding of and hostility or scepticism towards the concept of gender appears to be a reoccurring general challenge. Jones and Sales Moura (2016) share how gender, due to the concept’s relative novelty to HMA, was challenged and misunderstood in certain local communities of Afghanistan’s diverse society. Further, Wallacher (2008) criticises that gender was frequently understood as an equivalent to women. Women’s employment in the Cambodian HMA sector often reinforced stereotypical staffing, resulting in women being responsible for educational activities with children. Such an approach, Wallacher notes, fails to ensure women’s equal access to influence in HMA in the meaning of gender mainstreaming. Conversely, the main facilitator for implementing gender mainstreaming was a well-established national mine action structure with gender mainstreaming capacities in place (Wallacher, 2008; Biscaglia et al., 2020). Strengthened national capacities, such as Cambodia’s Mine Action Authority, allow HMA for more adaptability to emerging trends and changes, but also for more consistency in competency building of staff tasked with gender mainstreaming. Moreover, women’s participation can be strengthened by integrating their equal opportunities in national mine action legislation, policies and practices (Biscaglia et al., 2020).
To conclude, a review of various case studies suggests that gender mainstreaming can contribute to demining operations by more accurately mapping contamination and
11 understanding accident trends. In turn, clearance and EORE programmes can be better prioritised and tailored to reduce casualties and protect affected communities. Moreover, gender mainstreaming can empower women’s socioeconomic participation as well as their impact on decision making in the HMA sector. While a lack of understanding towards the concept of gender might pose an obstacle, strong national capacities can facilitate gender mainstreaming in HMA. Particularly in the latter regard, more research is required to evaluate whether gender mainstreaming in Ukraine encounters challenges due to an undeveloped national HMA capacity. Interestingly, most case studies were conducted in non-European countries and contexts with clear divisions of traditional gender roles, such as Cambodia, Jordan and Afghanistan. It follows that there appears to be a lack of research on gender mainstreaming in European landmine contaminated countries, such as Ukraine, but also Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina.
1.4. Research relevance
As there has not been much research on Ukraine’s HMA sector from a gender perspective, this study aims to fill parts of this knowledge deficit by entering a dialogue with organisations of the 2021 Ukrainian mine action sub-cluster. Since gender is a relatively young but growing concept, the study will draw an academically relevant picture of the integration of gender into HMA.
On the practical level, the lessons identified might be able to facilitate an exchange of ideas and thereby contribute to the recommended strategy of a cooperative approach to the implementation of the ambitious gender mainstreaming objectives outlined in the Oslo Action Plan’s Practical Recommendations (APMBC, 2019). Accordingly, the findings of this study might help clarify and improve the understanding how, to what extent and under which conditions gender mainstreaming can positively contribute to making HMA more efficient and tailored to the groups most at-risk and most vulnerable.
1.5. Limitations
Due to time and resource constraints, there are various limitations to this study. Firstly, causality data refers exclusively to civilian victims from the available data in the Government Controlled Area (GCA) in east Ukraine. For more comprehensive results, future research
12 should include military casualty data as well as information from the Non-Government Controlled Area (NGCA), insofar as available. Secondly, focusing primarily on gender, this study refers to intersections with age, disability, displacement and socio-economic status, as these are highly relevant for the Ukrainian context. However, for a more complete gender and diversity assessment of HMA in Ukraine, future research should reflect on the additional diversity considerations of ethnicity, urban/rural settlement, religion, language and literacy level. Thirdly, to analyse the integration of gender into HMA operations, this study focuses on two out of the five mine action pillars, namely clearance and EORE, which are the most developed in Ukraine. Although accounting for the fact that HMA in east Ukraine operates in a highly politicised context owing to the ongoing conflict, this thesis will not draw on Ukraine’s strategic interests related to demining. Lastly, due to limited time and resources, the interview sample of humanitarian demining specialists in Eastern Ukraine is limited to seven interviews with six different organisations active in the GCA at the time of data collection in March and April 2021. Future research should aim to include a greater interview sample and to apply different data collection methods.
1.6. Thesis outline
The introduction of this study outlined the background of landmine/ERW contamination in Ukraine, research goals and questions, previous research on gender mainstreaming in HMA, the relevance and contributions of this thesis, as well as the limitations of this research. The second chapter conceptualises the gendered human security approach. The third chapter presents and justifies the method of primary data collection through semi-structured interviews. The fourth chapter analyses the findings from the primary data collection through a gendered human security lens. Lastly, the concluding discussion summarises the relevant findings in concise answers to each research question.
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2. Conceptual framework
HMA represents an intersection between three traditionally separate domains: the military/security sector, humanitarian action, and development. It follows that a comprehensive analytical tool is required to adequately reflect these distinctive aspects of gender mainstreaming in HMA. Here, the concept of human security as “livelihood security based on the needs and rights of individuals and groups” (Rosenow-Williams and Behmer, 2015, p.2) serves as a holistic starting point. This section combines the concept of human security with gender considerations into a gendered human security analysis, which will be used to study HMA in Ukraine.
2.1. Human security
The concept of human security complements the traditional understanding of military security, which is concerned with the survival of the state (Tripp et al., 2013). Instead, human security places emphasis on the individual, whose human safety, livelihood and dignity are of main concern. The concept is intrinsically linked with state security by the assumption that
“the state is not secure when its population is not secure” (Hofmann et al., 2016, p.7). Yet, individual security does not necessarily derive from national security. Dangers to individual security are not only of military but also of environmental, societal, political and economic nature. As such, human security acknowledges that the insecurity of individuals, not only states, perpetuates poverty and hinders development (Hofmann, et al., 2016). The UN has defined human security in Resolution 66/290 as peoples’ entitlement to “freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential” (UN Resolution 66/290 (2012)).
To realise this entitlement, human security requires a people-centred approach and a double strategy of protection and empowerment. Protection fosters the “freedom from fear and freedom from want”, effectively shielding individuals from insecurities and dangers to life and livelihood. Empowerment entails that people have agency and participate in the security discourse without discrimination - rather than “passive recipients” of security, people actively contribute to formulating solutions to security problems (Tadjbakhsh, 2007). It follows that states and the international community bear a dual responsibility for “protecting
14 people from critical threats and empowering them to take charge of their own lives” (Ogata in Tadjbakhsh, 2007). However, Tripp et al. (2013) argue that the human security concept needs to be supplemented to acknowledge power and gender relations, the gendered nature of states, as well as notions of intersectionality. Accounting for the people-centred approach of human security, it is crucial to understand that individuals, communities, and nations perceive and experience security risks and vulnerabilities in group- and gender-specific ways.
2.2. Gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities
On the individual level, gender defines “socially learnt and culturally variable behaviour expressing sex” (Carver, 2002, p.88), which shapes the understandings of how individuals should act in accordance with gender norms within a society. On the societal level, gender refers to “the construction of relationships between male and female, and the attendant power dynamics found within these relationships” (Hoogensen and Rottem, 2004, p.163). These power hierarchies are grounded in the assumption of certain forms of masculinity being “the protectors and controllers of [the] less masculine” (Hoogensen and Rottem, 2004, p.164). On the structural level, not only individuals and personal relationships, but also organisations, institutions and states are gendered(Tripp, et al., 2013). The result is a patriarchal structure that traditionally marginalises and disadvantages women’s experiences and creates an unequal allocation of resources while normalising masculine assumptions about security (Hoogensen and Rottem, 2004). It is, therefore, crucial to bring visibility to gendered insecurities as well as gendered vulnerabilities to explain why the experiences and needs of women, boys, girls and men differ.
One of the most influential gender scholars, Naila Kabeer (2010, p.4) describes insecurity as
“exposure to risk”, with the risk being an uncertain event that can negatively affect a person’s health and well-being. The likelihood or probability that such risk will occur is measured by risk exposure. During wartime, physical insecurity is more apparent for men “who are harmed by social constructions of masculinity that force them into conflict”, thus exposing them to greater risk of physical violence (Tripp, et al., 2013, p.17). However, also during peacetime or among the civilian population, the security of civilian men and boys has been influenced by dominant and militarised understandings of masculinity (Tripp, et al., 2013;
Duncanson, 2018). For example, civilian men and boys are exposed to violence by societal
15 assumptions of manly roles and behaviours, such as being aggressive, uncompromising, or taking risks (Tripp, et al., 2013; Duncanson, 2018). Due to the dominant male- and state- centric understanding of security, women’s perceptions and experiences of insecurity have been less visible in the security discourse (Rosenow-Williams and Behmer, 2015). While gender norms limit women’s public mobility in many cultures, women might have a lower risk of exposure to insecurities in the public sphere than men. Conversely, common security threats perceived especially by women are sexual violence including rape, intimate partner violence and economic deprivation (Hoogensen and Rottem, 2004). Moreover, widowhood, or “the death or disability of the male breadwinner” can mark women’s decline into poverty (Kabeer, 2010, pp.96, 235).
Women are often described as being disproportionately affected by crises, which is closely connected with the understanding of gendered vulnerabilities. Kabeer (2010, p.4) defines vulnerability as lacking resilience to a shock, and the subsequent “possibility of a declining well-being.” Such gendered vulnerabilities are often based on structural inequalities and discrimination (Tripp, et al., 2013). Traditional gender norms expect women to engage in householding, childcare and care for the elderly, unpaid activities often coming at the cost of education, which hinders women to compete on an equal basis with men on the labour market (Kabeer, 2010). Because of this economic inequality, women have fewer resources and assets than men to respond to insecurities (Durham, 2008). Due to limited mobility, women are less likely to access information and join debates in community and administrative centres or at workplaces (Kabeer, 2010). Consequently, in combination with gender norms, women tend to be less resilient to insecurities, such as accidents, sudden shortage of household income or the scarcity of resources to take control over their own lives (JOURNAL, 2008a).
It must be stressed, however, that gendered vulnerabilities do not refer exclusively to women, nor do they apply to all women equally. Paradoxically, the perceived masculine strength also increases men-specific vulnerabilities. Beyond direct violence, societal and individual pressure to live up to dominant notions of masculinities can create additional male-specific vulnerabilities, such as risk-prone behaviour or inhibitions to report sexual violence.
Furthermore, regarding but not limited to disability, men might be especially vulnerable to stigma, feelings of failure, lack access or unwillingness to seek medical help, including
16 mental health care (Evans et al., 2011; Duncanson, 2018). Especially intersecting factors of socio-economic class, age, displacement and illness can exacerbate “power-relations […]
among women and among men” (UNMAS, 2019, p.65), rendering certain societal groups more vulnerable or more exposed to risk than others.
It follows that a gender lens can uncover and explain less visible needs and security concerns of individuals and marginalised social groups (Hoogensen and Rottem, 2004). In reverse, by omitting to consider the gendered security needs of women, girls, men and boys, protection programmes risk failing, “because crucial needs along the various security dimensions may be overlooked and the lack of rights and resources consequently remain unaddressed”
(Rosenow-Williams and Behmer, 2015, p.13). With this in mind, the following subchapter will outline a gendered human security framework for the purposes of HMA.
2.3. A gendered human security framework for humanitarian mine action
For HMA, both the human security lens and mainstreaming gender are considered crucial for ensuring the effectiveness, accountability, and non-discrimination of programmes (Hofmann et al., 2016). While the international sector has produced rich guidance on gender mainstreaming in HMA, the most recent and relevant document are the practical recommendations of the Oslo Action Plan, produced at the Fourth Review Conference of the Anti-Personal Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) that Ukraine is a signatory to, How to implement and monitor gender mainstreaming in the APMBC (2019, hereinafter the Practical Recommendations). Moreover, the United Nations Gender Guidelines for Mine Action Programmes (2019, hereinafter the Gender Guidelines) provides comprehensive guidance on the strategic level and will be used particularly for recommendations on women’s participation. Good practices for gender mainstreaming, outlined in these documents, will be conceptualised along the dual strategy for human security: protection and empowerment.
2.3.1. Providing protection through operational effectiveness
In terms of protection, human security aims to reduce insecurities from risks to life and livelihood to achieve “freedom from fear” (Tripp et al., 2013). For HMA, protection can be achieved through the removal of threats (clearance) and the reduction of risk to landmine contamination (EORE). Since human security and gender mainstreaming both require
17 sensitivity to the local context and culture, prior to the set-off of operations, the Practical Recommendations advise
“[c]onducting a gender and diversity analysis as part of the desk assessment for non-technical survey, EORE and [victim assistance] needs assessments” and
“[u]sing the gender and diversity analysis, as well as the analysed sex, age and disability disaggregated data collected during various operations to inform prioritisation and future mine action operations” (APMBC, 2019, p.2)
In terms of clearance, HMA heavily relies on community interaction for the mapping of contamination. With a people-centred approach being at the core of both human security and gender mainstreaming, the Practical Recommendations advise assessing a community’s gendered experiences of insecurities from landmine contamination. It is recommended to
“[consult] with women, girls, boys and men, including persons with disabilities, in all non-technical survey and impact assessment activities to ensure effective operations and to understand the impact of contamination and of clearance activities on all groups” (APMBC, 2019, p.2).
However, since clearance is a slow process, HMA aims to reduce casualty numbers through EORE, by teaching safe behaviour to the affected population and particularly to the group most at risk. The Practical Recommendations name two core suggestions to gender mainstreaming in EORE. Firstly, to adequately target at-risk groups, it is recommended to
“[tailor] explosive ordnance risk education to the most at risk based on a detailed gender, age and diversity analysis, even if this means not achieving gender balance in beneficiary numbers” (APMBC, 2019, p.2).
Secondly, acknowledging gender differences in risk-taking behaviour and barriers to access educational programmes, an evidence-based approach to EORE is suggested,
“whereby materials and messages reflect the risk taking behaviours undertaken by, and are accessible for, different age and gender groups and persons with specific needs, including but not limited to persons with disabilities.” (APMBC, 2019, p.2).
Thus, gender mainstreaming can contribute to a reduction of landmine risk through improved operations for better informed clearance and adequately targeted and tailored EORE.
18 2.3.2. Providing empowerment through meaningful participation
As mentioned previously, gendered vulnerabilities are often based on structural inequalities and discrimination (Tripp, et al., 2013). As economic insecurity in particular contributes to lower resilience against shock among women, economic empowerment can build such resilience by strengthening women’s control over their lives (Kabeer, 2010). From a human security perspective, the empowerment of women to exercise control over resources and participate in decision-making, their equal opportunities and the accommodation of gendered needs, are at the core of security (Hofmann et al., 2016, p.30). Thus, this study focuses on the empowerment of women and marginalised groups through meaningful participation in two regards: on the one side, women’s economic participation and, on the other side, women’s participation in decision making in the HMA sector.
Since landmine contamination has a severe impact on socio-economic development, the HMA sector often offers sustainable employment to affected populations crucial for their livelihood (Biscaglia et al., 2018). In this regard, women and marginalised groups should not be discriminated against but should be given equal opportunities in the sector. The Practical Recommendations urge states and national HMA authorities to
“advocate to remove [legal and structural] obstacles to women’s employment and advancement at all levels in the mine action sector” and to “ensure that there are no legal obstacles to the full and meaningful participation of women in mine action”
(APMBC, 2019, p.3).
In addition to direct discrimination, the Gender Guidelines (2019, pp.15, 26) recommend employers to consider women’s indirect barriers to the labour market, such as language of vacancy announcements, childcare, facilities and equipment and internal policies, that might hinder women from applying for work in the HMA sector due to prevalent gender norms.
In addition to economic empowerment, human security understands empowerment as the active, meaningful participation of society as a whole in the security discourse (Tadjbakhsh, 2007; Hofmann, et al., 2016). Overall, the economic participation of women in the employment sector can transform unequal gender relations, by promoting “shared power, control of resources, decision-making, and support for women’s empowerment” (UNMAS, 2019, p.66). Beyond their mere recruitment, for true meaningful participation, women should
19 advance into and be represented in senior positions at the decision-making level. Therefore, the Gender Guidelines state that
“women and men should be entitled to equal training and career advancement opportunities. […] In contexts where it is unusual for women to hold senior positions, specific efforts should be made to grant qualified women opportunities to progress” (UNMAS, 2019, p.16).
To conclude, gender mainstreaming in HMA can contribute to the dual strategy of human security by meeting protection needs and by fostering empowerment. On the one hand, increased efficiency for clearance and EORE can reduce physical and economic insecurities from landmine contamination. On the other hand, equal economic opportunities and meaningful decision-making participation of women and marginalised groups in the HMA sector can build resilience and reduce vulnerabilities to landmine contamination. The study will proceed to outline the main research method in chapter 3.
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3. Method
3.1. Method choice
For this research, semi-structured interviews were chosen for primary data collection. Since available research on HMA in Ukraine is limited, collecting primary data from experts and humanitarian demining organisations in Ukraine was the method most likely to generate specific answers and examples in response to the research questions (Bryman, 2016).
A comprehensive interview guide was used for the respondents, who answered the questions relevant to their organisation’s mandate (Appendix 2). Most questions were designed to be open-ended in order to allow participants to share as much information as they deemed relevant. Follow-up questions were asked when responses were unclear or incomplete. All seven interviews were conducted in line with recommended interview procedures for qualitative research, as they were recorded and transcribed, then coded by using the qualitative data software NVivo, thematised and interpreted (Bryman, 2016).
3.2. Research sample
The research sample includes seven interviews and, as two participants were present in one session, a total of eight respondents, four of whom were women and four men (Appendix 3).
Five interview contacts were identified by referral of the Geneva International Centre on Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), while two were identified via contact form on the organisations’ website. The respondents’ general professional experience with HMA ranged from 0,5 to 27 years, and 0,5 to 21 years of experience with mine action in Ukraine specifically. At the time of interviewing in March and April 2021, the respondents were employed by six different organisations working with demining and/or HMA capacity building in Ukraine, namely the Danish Demining Group, Fondation Suisse de Déminage, the Halo Trust, the Ukrainian Deminers Association, Organization for the Security and Cooperation Europe Project Coordinator Ukraine and the United Nations Development Programme.
21 3.3. Ethical considerations
All interviews were conducted in line with the ethical considerations of transparency, consent and anonymity. At the beginning of each interview, respondents were informed about the research background, goals and questions. All respondents gave their consent to record the interview and confirmed that they voluntarily took part in this study. Besides, respondents were informed of their right to withdraw from the interview at any point without justification.
To ensure their continued operability in East Ukraine, respondents’ anonymity was guaranteed. Lastly, all interview participants will receive the final version of this study for their record.
3.4. Validity, reliability and generalisability
According to Mason (1996, quoted in Bryman, 2016), the quality of qualitative research is determined by its validity, reliability, and generalisability. Validity is the correspondence between the formulation of research questions, choice of data collection and method with the envisaged research goal (Leung, 2015, Bryman 2016). A qualitative research and primary data collection were an appropriate method choice to generate knowledge on the gender mainstreaming strategies applied by organisations in the HMA sector in East Ukraine.
Throughout the conceptual framework, data collection and analysis, this research is consistently focusing on responding to its research questions. Furthermore, this study shows reliability through consistency and constant data comparison (Leung 2015). In this thesis, the accuracy of primary data collection was verified in context with other respondents and, wherever possible, through triangulation (Bryman, 2016). The generalisability of qualitative research is challenging overall, especially when such research is based on a limited interview sample. However, the consistency and reliability of this study might allow for the transferability of findings to similar settings (Bryman, 2016).
With the research design outlined, the following section will analyse the findings of the semi- structured interviews with organisations of the Ukrainian mine action sub-cluster.
22
4. Analysis
This analysis chapter presents the findings of the semi-structured interviews and gives comprehensive responses to the research questions in three steps. First, the section highlights the gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities from landmine contamination in Ukraine.
Secondly, this section outlines the gender mainstreaming practices deployed by the Ukrainian mine action subcluster in line with the Practical Recommendations and the Gender Guidelines and in accordance with the dual human security strategy of protection and empowerment. Lastly, the section identifies the obstacles and opportunities encountered for gender mainstreaming in HMA in Ukraine.
4.1. Gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities from contamination in Ukraine
To understand the context-specific gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities and to design gender-responsive HMA, a gender and diversity analysis, as well as the availability of sex, age and disability disaggregated data is crucial (APMBC, 2019). Organisations in the Ukrainian mine action sub-cluster either had a gender analysis integrated in initial context assessments for operations, conducted such an analysis for EORE or had planned one for the near future. All operators confirmed that the data used for the planning of operations was disaggregated by sex, age and accident behaviour. Children’s casualty data was additionally disaggregated by various age ranges. However, owing to the lack of a centralised information management system for mine action in Ukraine, many respondents stated that casualty data was gathered from open sources or was surveyed by themselves. Nonetheless, the operators were able to draw a connection between civilian casualty data and gendered insecurities from landmine contamination in east Ukraine. A clear commonality identified in all interviews was the trend that men and boys disproportionately fell victims to landmine/ERW accidents.
This finding is reflected in the available open-source data (OSCE, 2020, see Appendix 1; The Monitor, 2021; DDG, 2021) and mirrors the global pattern of civilian landmine casualties.
Interview participants highlighted correlations between landmine accidents and traditional gender roles in the Ukrainian context by explaining men’s casualty data with their increased exposure to risk, largely reflecting Kabeer’s (2010) definition of insecurity. Traditionally in Ukraine, as the pater familia, a gender norm for men is to protect and take care of the family by being the breadwinner. Several respondents explained that the gendered division of labour
23 is crucial for understanding the high casualty rates among men, as men are more often than women engaged in activities with greater outdoor mobility e.g. repair and construction work, or work in the military sector. Men predominantly got injured during their daily routine and economic activities in male-dominated sectors. Many of these accidents were explained by a genuine lack of knowledge of the danger at the time of routine activity leading to the accident.
Internally displaced people (IDPs) and returnees were repeatedly mentioned as unable to mitigate risk, as they were not informed about the specific landmine dangers in a new environment. Yet, even more so than the lack of knowledge, survival and the pressure to generate income was stressed as a driving force for men to knowingly engage in risk-prone behaviour. Respondents described east Ukraine as “a really poor region”, with a lack of opportunities to earn money. As a result, men would intentionally engage in unsafe income- generating activity, such as farming or collecting scrap metal, which often involved the dismantling of ERW. The gender role of men as a household’s breadwinner, in combination with gendered labour sectors, therefore disproportionately exposes them to physical insecurity from landmine accidents.
However, gender roles in the labour market were not the sole explanation for gendered insecurities from landmine contamination, since another recurring theme of the casualty trends among men and boys was related to their attitude. In line with open-source data, most accidents occurred as a result of picking up, handling and tampering with ERW (Appendix 1). Since people had been living in the conflict-affected area in east Ukraine for several years already, many respondents stated that they were used to the contamination and prone to forget about the dangers, hence acting carelessly. Some respondents even referred to such an attitude as “stupidity” and lacking self-protection, since men repeated dangerous behaviour after having attended EORE sessions. Especially men with military experience were said to misjudge threats and overestimated their ability to handle landmines/ERW. Such recklessness among men could be explained by dominant understandings and expectations of manly behaviour (Tripp, et al., 2013; Duncanson, 2018). Among children, “natural curiosity” was the main explanation for casualties, whereby the victims were almost exclusively male. Due to a lack of child-friendly places in east Ukraine, one respondent explained, children played in the contaminated environment or destroyed buildings and most accidents occurred due to the picking-up of ERW. To explain the high rate of casualties
24 among boys, gender roles also influence children’s behaviour, reflecting that in Ukraine,
“girls play with dolls” while boys grow up with “soldiers being their heroes and idols”, exploring and playing outside. However, operators were reluctant to differentiate between the insecurities of boys and girls. It was emphasised that all children were at equal risk of falling victims to landmines since girls played with boys or had been hurt as bystanders in the past.
While men and boys were disproportionately exposed to landmine/ERW risk in east Ukraine, accidents that involved women, including the elderly and adolescent, happened during mushroom picking or firewood collection, walking cattle, travelling, at the border crossing or during household work. Due to gender roles in Ukraine, women largely continued to fulfil the traditional caretaking role. As a result, a respondent stated that women did “not find themselves in the same risks as men”, limiting their general likelihood of falling victim to landmines/ERW. However, as an exception to this trend, one respondent explained that women’s casualty rates were noticeably high at entry and exit crossing points between the GCA and the NGCA, as they walked further than men into contaminated nature when having to urinate while waiting at the border crossing.
Yet, rather than falling direct victims to landmines, women were overly vulnerable to the socio-economic consequences of accidents in line with Kabeer’s (2010) understanding of vulnerability as a lower resilience to shock and a likely decline of well-being. Due to the gender roles, deaths often involved a family’s breadwinner, which, according to a respondent, had “a severe impact on households [as] medical and caring costs of a disabled person or child [were often] beyond the financial abilities of the household.” Such vulnerability of women is furthermore exacerbated by a household’s high dependency on the breadwinner, with only 28% of household members reportedly engaged in paid work in 2020 (REACH, 2021). In general, women were the expected caretakers for victims, which respondents saw as an additional burden since east Ukraine already has a high number of single mothers.
Moreover, intersecting diversity considerations increased communities’ general vulnerabilities to landmine contamination, as mine-affected settlements had a high number of elderly people, IDPs, people with disabilities and people living in poverty in remote isolated areas. Notably, 74% of heads of households in east Ukraine were either older than
25 60, chronically ill or disabled (REACH, 2021). Due to a low pension scheme in Ukraine, the common combination of poverty and age resulted in precarious living conditions for the elderly (The Monitor, 2021). Moreover, since unsafe behaviour among men was also identified as poverty-driven, the unemployed were a particularly vulnerable group. Finally, disabled men were said to be especially confronted with societal stigma and feelings of shame, due to their lost role as the family’s provider.
Based on the identified gendered insecurities and vulnerabilities, the following section will investigate whether the mine action sub-cluster adopted strategies to protect the groups most at risk and to empower vulnerable groups.
4.2. Strategies of gender mainstreaming in demining operations
In line with the human security objective to free people from fear and want (Tripp, et al., 2013), this section outlines how the mine action sub-cluster considered gender and diversity in their programmes, most notably in community interaction for clearance and EORE.
4.2.1. Gender mainstreaming in community interaction for clearance
In line with the Practical Recommendations, the importance of a people-centred approach and the need to consult the whole of a community for information gathering and prioritisation was highlighted by almost all respondents. This section will focus, first, on the various community interaction strategies applied and, second, on the prioritisation process for clearance.
Firstly, for community interaction, many organisations adopted an integrated approach, often combining non-technical survey, impact assessment and short EORE sessions. Usually, local administrations were consulted first, followed by community meetings and household visits to relevant key informants, particularly when contamination was suspected in the proximity of settlements. In other cases, people who found landmines/ERW contacted a hotline to inform operators of the contamination. The common strategy of household visits was applied to
“reach elderly people or disabled individuals who wouldn’t be able to come to a community meeting.” To ensure thorough information gathering, visiting times were flexible and adapted to key informants’ preferences and availability according to working hours or seasonal work.
However, rather than large-scale surveying, operators shared that information gathering focused on key informants who held relevant information.
26 In line with the Gender Guidelines (2019, p.16), mixed teams were deployed as a strategy for better access to and correspondence with certain societal groups. For example, women were perceived as more able to interact with other women and children, particularly with girls.
Especially for interacting with the Greek minority in east Ukraine, mixed-gender teams were seen as more appropriate and culturally sensitive when communicating with women. At the same time, operators stated that men were seen as better communicators with teenage boys, and particularly military men were more respected educators of safe behaviour in front of a male audience. Moreover, operators expressed that particularly landmine victims would be a good contribution to community interaction teams, and particularly for EORE activities.
However, due to prevailing stigma around disability and difficulty to identify landmine victims, no disabled persons were currently employed in community interaction.
Diversity in staffing was also seen as an advantage to information gathering as different team members would notice different things relevant for the assessment of contamination.
Particularly the hiring of local staff was seen as beneficial for the operational effectiveness of HMA for two reasons. On the one hand, local knowledge, personal motivation and situational awareness fed back into the mapping of minefields and facilitated community interaction. On the other hand, by providing locals with stable employment, poverty-driven unsafe behaviour was reduced, which was identified as a reason for landmine accidents among adult men. In addition, community interaction teams were also bilingual in Ukrainian and Russian and able to adapt to a community’s language preferences. Language was particularly important in sensitive situations, such as at entry and exit points between the GCA and NGCA. People crossing into the NGCA preferred leaflets in Russian out of fear that they would “not be accepted on the other side”. Several organisations confirmed that staff was trained in gender and diversity considerations for community interaction, such as the etiquette of identifying the age of informants in a respectful manner. It will be highlighted in a later section how the current COVID-19 pandemic poses a major impediment to community interaction in general and household visits particularly, and how technology allowed for digital solutions.
Secondly, in terms of prioritisation for clearance, the Practical Recommendations suggest basing this process on the gender analysis and sex, age and disability disaggregated data of casualties and future beneficiaries of land release (APMBC, 2019, p.2), while a human
27 security lens supports fostering economic security and livelihood in line with a broader understanding of security. In this regard, one operator explained their use of a prioritisation matrix, which was fed with sex and age disaggregated data to assess the number of people using the land before contamination and estimate the number of beneficiaries after land release. Additionally, the respondent stated priority setting was also responsive to communities’ preferences. However, such requests had to be evaluated in an objective way and in accordance with the prioritisation matrix. Moreover, a developmental approach to clearance appeared to be essential to several operators in HMA in Ukraine, who often stated considering the assessment of the developmental impact a starting point for land release and their responsibility for “bridging the famous nexus” between humanitarian and development aid.
Yet, throughout the interview process, it became apparent that most operators only had limited decision-making power over priority setting, as they adhered to the annual plan developed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and interested authorities, which set the clearance priorities for each operator. According to open-source data, priorities of the 2021 annual plan were “the demining of populated areas, security during the rehabilitation of infrastructure, clearance of agricultural areas and critical infrastructures” (The Monitor, 2021). Thus, due to the national priority setting, it was unclear to what extent operators were able to mainstream gender or adopt a people-centred approach, nor how much influence communities, including women, had in the prioritisation for land release. Yet, organisations mandated with national capacity building stressed that training, workshops and conferences with national partners in HMA aimed to put more attention on livelihood and to become more people-oriented in the future.
4.2.2. Gender mainstreaming in explosive ordnance risk education
In terms of EORE, operators followed the Practical Recommendations insofar that many gave examples of evidence-based approaches to sessions. However, EORE beneficiary data appeared to be less focused on the highest risk group of adult men.
As previously stressed, adult men were the group most at risk of landmine accidents. Yet, interviews and open-source data reflected that adult men had the smallest EORE beneficiary number (The Monitor 2021). Only one respondent stated that adults were their priority target
28 audience for EORE. Moreover, when adults received EORE, the number of women beneficiaries usually exceeded that of men. This reflects an imbalance between men’s reality of being the main group killed or injured by landmines and the disproportionately low attention received by preventative efforts, not corresponding to the Practical Recommendation to tailor programmes to the most at-risk (APMBC, 2019, p.2). In line with Wallacher (2007), gender mainstreaming should not forget about men and boys, who must be addressed throughout HMA to reduce the number of casualties.
Notably, however, the concern for the high-risk group of civilian men resurfaced in several interviews. A shared need to extend EORE programmes for adults was apparent, including to increase targeting the industrial employment sector, state enterprises or people working with road infrastructure, pipelines, and powerlines. It was also argued that educating adults, parents and teachers, resulted in a snowball effect by passing down safe behaviour to students and children. One organisation had launched research into the best teaching materials most suitable to educate adult men. However, respondents underlined that a revision of EORE focus should not reduce children’s direct beneficiary numbers, because educating children brought generational change, and in turn also helped to reach the fathers and families better.
Whereas resources to EORE in Ukraine are already scarce (Jones and Crowther, 2016), the question remains whether the high-risk group of adult men should not be more at the centre of attention for EORE, as opposed to being considered as indirect beneficiaries.
In fact, the most targeted beneficiaries were children through school visits. Consequently, children were described as more educated about landmines/ERWs than the adult population.
Operators stated the success of child EORE since the number of child casualties had declined significantly over the past years. However, when asked whether EORE activities distinguished between or separated boys from girls, respondents stressed the complexity and inappropriateness to do so, particularly as Ukraine predominantly has mixed-gender schools.
Other EORE activities included training for trainers, frequently for teachers, while other EORE approaches were embedded in community interaction, such as workplace visits and sessions at entry and exit crossing points between the GCA and the NGCA.
With regards to EORE, the Practical Recommendations advise adopting an evidence-based approach and make EORE accessible to marginalised groups. Particularly among child
29 EORE, this recommendation seemed largely implemented. Due to children’s natural curiosity often leading to accidents, child EORE focused particularly around playing safely, recognising warning signs and not picking up unknown devices. To reduce bystander casualties, children were taught how to intervene when friends behave unsafely. Sessions were tailored according to children’s age groups, with playful and interactive sessions for younger children (visuals, posters, puppet-theatre, colouring books) and more informative sessions and discussions for older children and teenagers (short movies, mobile phone applications). Some respondents stressed that they refrained from showing or handing landmines/ERW to younger children to avoid encouraging natural curiosity and harmful behaviour, whereas older children and teenagers were more often taught to recognise and respond to different threat types and devices. To reach particularly vulnerable children, such as IDPs, operators actively identified them in schools or through the local administrations.
For adult EORE, an evidence-based approach appeared implemented insofar that operators targeted daily routine accident behaviour at workplaces, such as factories, coal mines, road companies, drivers, journalists, utility companies and state enterprises. To educate adults not part of the workforce, such as the retired, unemployed, displaced or disabled, other places for EORE sessions included churches and mosques, entry and exit crossing points, unemployment centres as well as house-to-house visits. Such efforts were aimed at reaching particularly vulnerable and marginalised groups, including IDPs and scrap metal collectors.
Particularly during household visits, operators underlined that EORE activities were tailored towards the type of threat in a particular area and to the audience’s risk-taking behaviour. For example, when educating the elderly, emphasis was put on local risks in the neighbourhood and forests to reduce accidents from mushroom picking or firewood collection. Such an approach was stated to allow for flexibility in adapting to individuals’ perceptions of threats and insecurities.
However, what became apparent for adult EORE was the limited time for sessions. At crossing points, short safety briefings were held for people queuing in line, while sessions in workplaces were limited to break periods. Therefore, a common method of adult EORE appeared to be the distribution of leaflets. It follows that beneficiary numbers of adult men did not only not correspond with casualty data, but that they also as beneficiaries appeared
30 to receive limited education. Again, the question remains to what extent such an approach produces behavioural change among this highest at-risk group to prevent accidents.
To conclude, within operations, gender was mostly mainstreamed in community interactions for survey by conducting household visits and deploying mixed teams with context sensitivity. In terms of prioritisation, it was difficult to estimate to what extent operators were able to adopt a people-centred approach in the meaning of gender mainstreaming and human security. Moreover, EORE programmes were described to follow an evidence-based approach. Yet, EORE beneficiary numbers do not appear to target the group most at risk of falling casualty of landmines, who are adult men. The following section will present how operators have mainstreamed gender in HMA for a developmental impact and women’s empowerment.
4.3. Strategies of gender mainstreaming for women’s empowerment
As stressed earlier, empowerment can reduce gendered vulnerabilities by building resilience to shock (Kabeer, 2010). In line with the entitlement to “equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential” (UN Resolution 66/290 (2012)), the empowerment of women to exercise control over resources and participate in decision- making are understood to be at the core of human security (Hofmann et al., 2016). Therefore, the following section will focus on strategies to foster women’s economic participation, before proceeding to women’s participation in decision-making in HMA in Ukraine.
4.3.1. Empowerment through women’s economic participation
A common approach to supporting mine-affected regions and population’s livelihoods was the creation of employment opportunities for local communities. One of the largest operators, who employed about 450 locals and IDPs, including 100 women, underlined that affected communities were offered a stable and long-term income and an opportunity to develop transferable skills, not reliant on donors’ funding commitment.
Particularly with regards to women, both direct and indirect barriers to equal employment opportunities were addressed, as recommended by the Practical Recommendations (2019, p.3) and Gender Guidelines (2019, p.16). While many women were employed in support and community-interaction teams, recruitment of women as deminers and operational roles was
