Guidance Note: Gender-responsive conflict analysis

Most conflict and political analyses exclude the specific status, needs and experiences of women, men, girls, boys, and sexual and gender minorities. A Gender-Responsive Conflict Analysis analysis explores – with a gender lens – systems of power, institutions and stakeholders, and root causes, triggers and drivers of conflict and peace. This type of analysis recognizes that gender power relations and the enforcement of patriarchal power over women, men and children, and sexual and gender minorities is political.  Gender-responsive conflict analysis was pioneered to counter the pervasive trend of political and conflict analysis that ignores patriarchy as a power variable and the influence of gender norms and values. Whilst initially developed for Afghanistan, this Guidance Note on Gender-responsive conflict analysis has global applicability. It provides recommendations on how to apply a gender lens in political and conflict analysis in a way that allows the integration of gender as a variable of power across social, political, economic analysis of conflict as opposed to addressing issues specific to women and girls in siloed analysis. This approach reveals the critical links between gender dynamics of conflict and peacebuilding.