The project on Gender in the Global Community examines the functioning of gendered structures and norms in the international system, focusing especially on security, human rights, economic activity, and institution building. The project’s research agenda and related activities work to bring a gendered lens of analysis to key issues and challenges in the international system, with a particular focus on women’s empowerment as leaders, as economic actors, and as equal citizens in the global community.

The project on Gender in the Global Community produces a variety of research outputs, including policy briefs, thematic reports, and best practice guidelines. It actively engages in advocacy efforts to highlight often-overlooked victims through public lectures and workshops while also supporting policy reforms through educational seminars.

Student and community-focused initiatives offer opportunities for students to co-author research, join thematic reading groups, receive training in feminist research methodologies, and participate in professional events to connect with global discussions on gender and security.

Sydney Leigh Smith, a PhD student in Security Studies, serves as a Gender Fellow for the project. She can be reached at [email protected] for information on student involvement and engagement with the project.

Initiated in 2010, the project on Gender in the Global Community is currently engaged with two key subprojects: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Children and Armed Conflict. 

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV): Beginning in the fall of 2017, LISD’s project on Gender in the Global Community began project work to engage more deeply with the specific issue of CRSV, especially as it affects men and boys. The Institute convenes key stakeholders around this issue to facilitate dialogue, disseminate research, and generate policy recommendations focusing on gender- and identity-inclusive approaches to and mechanisms for combatting CRSV. In cooperation with All Survivors Project, the project on Gender in the Global Community has begun conducting work on the magnitude of underreporting of CRSV against men and boys. Professional events encompass interdisciplinary seminars, roundtable discussions with key stakeholders, and workshops focused on gender-sensitive conflict resolution.

Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC): UN Security Council resolutions 1612, 1882, 1998, 2068, and 2143 demand the protection of children in armed conflict and firmly designate this protection as a matter of international peace and security. Boys and girls living in situations of armed conflict around the world face serious violations of their security and rights, including sexual violence and exploitation. In collaboration with the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG CAAC) and All Survivors Project, the project on Gender in the Global Community convenes key stakeholders to generate recommendations for moving the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict agenda forward, with a specific focus on child protection in conflict mediation and peace processes, and paying particular attention to outputs and outcomes that are gender sensitive. In 2024, LISD signed a partnership agreement with OSRSG CAAC to produce research papers on ‘Child-Inclusive and Gender-Responsive Release and Reintegration Processes’ and ‘Justice, Human Rights, and Accountability in Reintegration.’

Previous subprojects include Global Women’s Work and Women, Peace and Security. Between 2017 and 2020, the project convened an interdisciplinary student fellows program on gender and security. Student fellows met biweekly and presented their research projects in a public forum, and LISD published selected papers in an in-house series. In the summer of 2023, Princeton University undergraduate students joined the Reintegration Research Group as LI-CAAC interns.