Banwell, S. (2018). Gender-based violence against women and girls within and beyond the Syrian conflict zone

This research was undertaken during a sabbatical at the University of Greenwich to enhance the researcher’s on-going work on the gendered impact of war and armed conflict. Using original examples, this work unpacks structural forms of Gender-based Violence (GBV) taking place within and beyond the Syrian conflict zone. These are: Denial of Reproductive Healthcare Services (RHS), resulting in forced pregnancy; denial of education, exacerbated by practices of early marriage; and denial of employment opportunities, leading to forced prostitution, particularly in Europe. Transnational feminism is the analytical framework used to explore these issues and the method of analysis draws upon the Political Economy approach (True 2010, 2012). This paper highlights the complex relationship between: Macro-level economic and political changes (economic globalization); state-level policy changes; state, regional, European and international interactions (military, financial, political and material) and GBV during conflict. This Syrian war economy reinforces existing patterns of violence against women and girls, while exposing them to new forms of GBV. It is the argument of this piece that examining the material basis of violence against women and girls facilitates a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of GBV during conflict and will assist efforts to eliminate it