'Security starts with the law': the role of international law in the protection of women's security post-conflict

The concept of security is often simplified and misunderstood in postconflict societies - those in which 'predominately male combatants have ceased to engage in "official" war. During post-war transition, women's victimhood has been emphasised at the expense of careful inquiry into women's unique experiences of conflict or their security needs during the peace-building process. Women's interactions with the notion of security are varied and complex, and extend far beyond a desire for an end to the 'official' war. This chapter explores two questions: what are the views of women regarding the role of law in protecting their security, and to what extent is law - both international and domestic - capable of transforming approaches to women's security? These questions respond to the demand, commonly expressed by women living through post-conflict transition, for a transformation rather than a mere reinterpretation of existing socio-political structure