Due to the chaos and anarchy of open conflicts, women and girls continue to be vulnerable to attacks, especially sexual based violence (in Côte d’Ivoire, 52% of women have been displaced by war and 21% among the displaced are women heads of households).

Low is the level of awareness and implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women’s participation in conflict prevention, peace negotiation and keeping and post war reconstruction. Although the Resolution calls upon all sides in armed conflicts to protect women and girls, they remain vulnerable targets in conflict situations.

Only twelve countries have adopted Action Plans to operationalise UNSCR 1325. Namibia integrated this Resolution into its revised National Gender Policy in 2008. In Cote d’Ivoire for example, the defence and security forces are being trained on UNSC Resolution 1325, while in Chad, a project was designed to assist displaced and refugee women who are victims of violence.

Even in those countries that have emerged from conflict, involving women in policies, plans and activities remains a challenge. Besides, women are not involved in high-level conflict resolution, or in peace management and peacekeeping initiatives.

Recommendations to address women in conflict include increased sensitisation on the existence and contents of UNSCR 1325 in all countries; develop and implement plans of action to effectively implement UNSCR 1325; and build and reinforce capacities of women at all levels to effectively participate in peace-making, peacekeeping and peace building/post–conflict reconstruction programmes.