{"id":30809,"date":"2017-03-07T14:30:40","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T03:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=30809"},"modified":"2017-03-07T10:52:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T23:52:14","slug":"implementing-wps-agenda-defence-concept-capability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/implementing-wps-agenda-defence-concept-capability\/","title":{"rendered":"Implementing the WPS agenda into Defence: concept or capability?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Image<\/p>\n

This article is part of a series on \u2018Women, Peace and Security\u2019 that <\/em>The Strategist will publish over coming weeks in recognition of International Women’s Day 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018This is not just about equity but capability.\u2019 That was the opening line of my speech to the Council of Colonels at the Headquarters of \u2018Operation Resolute Support\u2019 in Afghanistan in 2015.<\/p>\n

As the Mission\u2019s first Senior Gender Advisor, I knew that I\u2019d face resistance to my work and that I\u2019d have to prove to my military colleagues\u2014predominantly men\u2014why they should care about integrating women into the Afghan National Defence Security Forces (ANDSF). Moreover, I needed to show them that UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security wasn\u2019t just a concept outlining a series of international humanitarian principles that they should adhere to, but rather, that it was something that could also contribute to the mission\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

There were some key lessons that I learnt from my experience as the \u2018Resolute Support\u2019 Gender Advisor that I\u2019ve since applied to ADF operations. The first is that WPS applies to different nations in different ways depending on cultural imperatives. The second was the need to demonstrate to military planners how WPS can enhance operational effectiveness.<\/p>\n

For example, in preparing for the Afghan fighting season, it was important for the military planners to understand that more women than combatants were being killed in Afghanistan every day, just because of their gender. In addition, women\u2019s empowerment in Afghanistan countered the strategy of the Taliban which was deliberately targeting women in public positions and the security forces. As such, it made operational sense to enable 50% of the population to protect themselves and contribute to Afghanistan\u2019s security.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d suggest that the ADF and Australian Army personnel in particular, are weary of women\u2019s agendas in light of the necessary and significant cultural reform that has occurred through the \u2018Pathway to Change\u2019<\/a>. In attempting to integrate WPS into ADF operations, I couldn\u2019t ignore the largely negative perceptions surrounding the positive discrimination of women and I knew that I\u2019d need to address these issues in its introduction. Regardless of the individual attitudes, it was clear to me that four things needed to be addressed to ensure the effective implementation of WPS into the planning and conduct of operations.<\/p>\n

First, the two agendas\u2014ADF internal cultural reform and the implementation of WPS on operations\u2014needed to be separated. Second, the term \u2018WPS\u2019 needed to be replaced by \u2018gender\u2019 to be more inclusive of all vulnerable groups and actors within a deployed environment. Third, the ADF needed to be educated on the fact that \u2018gender\u2019 doesn\u2019t mean \u2018women,\u2019 but rather, refers to the roles of men and women defined through socialisation and culture. And finally, the implementation of WPS within Defence isn\u2019t just about equity but capability and enhancing operational effectiveness.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, purists to the WPS agenda have raised concerns with me about focusing the agenda on \u2018gender\u2019 rather than \u2018women\u2019, believing that it would lead to women\u2019s issues in conflict continuing to be ignored. However, that hasn\u2019t been the case in its practical application. In the majority of planning activities conducted by the ADF, policymakers have been able to gain a better understanding of human security issues within an operating environment. That understanding includes recognition of the correlation between the levels of violence against women within a particular society and the rates of lawlessness and escalating conflict. They\u2019ve also recognised the cultural imperative for women\u2019s participation in missions and the importance of identifying female leaders who can assist in resolving the violence within their communities as well as the conflict overall.<\/p>\n

The ADF\u2019s response to Tropical Cyclone Winston in Fiji in 2016 was an example of where the ADF was able to better understand how to respond to a crisis through engaging with local women\u2019s groups and local women. Of note, there was an increase in the vulnerability of certain groups in the population\u2014in particular, women and girls\u2014and as such, Fijian female forces were allocated to some of the emergency shelters while the ADF and other agencies focused on assisting Fiji with the relief effort. The deployed Gender Advisors were also central to the integration of WPS on the operation through their subject matter expertise on the WPS agenda and ability to engage with the local population on gender related issues.<\/p>\n

The ADF has made strong progress in implementing the WPS agenda within the past few years. However, that\u2019s mainly due to the effort of a handful of Gender Advisors working for the ADF\u2019s top brass. It could be argued that WPS would be more fully embraced by ADF members and better understood should it have been initially introduced into service as a capability with the necessary resources, training, doctrine and trained personnel.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the challenges, we can\u2019t just consider WPS as a concept to be admired by the military. After all, the agenda itself derived from military peacekeeping operations in the 1990s. We need to continue to strive to apply it practically and provide a safe and secure environment for everyone\u2014including women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is part of a series on \u2018Women, Peace and Security\u2019 that The Strategist will publish over coming weeks in recognition of International Women’s Day 2017. \u2018This is not just about equity but capability.\u2019 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":612,"featured_media":30811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44,43,63,1002,1868],"class_list":["post-30809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australian-defence-force","tag-afghanistan","tag-hadr","tag-women","tag-wps"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nImplementing the WPS agenda into Defence: concept or capability? | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/implementing-wps-agenda-defence-concept-capability\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Implementing the WPS agenda into Defence: concept or capability? | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article is part of a series on \u2018Women, Peace and Security\u2019 that The Strategist will publish over coming weeks in recognition of International Women’s Day 2017. \u2018This is not just about equity but capability.\u2019 ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/implementing-wps-agenda-defence-concept-capability\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-07T03:30:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-06T23:52:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/20160808adf8214577_05.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"816\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amanda Fielding\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amanda Fielding\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/implementing-wps-agenda-defence-concept-capability\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/20160808adf8214577_05.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/20160808adf8214577_05.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":816,\"caption\":\"Australian Army soldier and ammunition technician Corporal Monique Geck remotely fires an explosive charge, during an explosive hazards lecture run by her unit, Force Support Element 4 at Camp Baird in the Middle East Region. *** Local Caption *** One of the most important units operating out of Camp Baird in the Middle East region provides support to all ADF personnel deployed to Camp Baird, Afghanistan, Iraq and any United Nations missions Australia is a part of. 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