This article examines the dynamics of conflict and peace in one case of a fragile and low-intensity conflict-affected area: Mindanao, Philippines. Like several other contexts in the Asia Pacific, Mindanao is a fragile area marked by the presence of protracted conflicts that stretch back to independence of the Philippines. However, the region is unique in that it has also engendered a peace process in which women’s participation has been highlighted internationally as playing a crucial part. The Philippines is recognised as a ‘success story’ for modelling women’s participation in peace (UN Women 2015).
The Bangsamoro peace process – that is, the peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) – culminated in the historic signing of a peace agreement on 27 March 2014. The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro ended a 40-year conflict, and 17 years of negotiations. It is considered a trailblazer, because women were present from both sides of the peace table and included throughout the negotiation process. They comprised 50 per cent of the government’s negotiating team and 25 per cent of the signatories (O’Reilly et al. 2015). In contrast, many peace processes have involved only military representatives of armed parties. The government appointed a woman, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, as chief negotiator and signatory of the peace deal. This was a world first in historically male-dominated peace processes. The Philippines is also considered a leader in the Asia Pacific region for putting the United Nation’s (UN) Women, Peace and Security agenda into practice. It was the first country in the region to develop a National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (ibid.).
However, we argue in this article that for peace processes to promote the interests of all groups of women, the significant reporting constraints affecting those most likely to be targeted need to be explicitly acknowledged. We examine the occurrence and reporting of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the Philippines perpetrated across different types of armed conflicts. These issues need to be considered when we assess the broader implications of the Philippines peace process in sustainably advancing gender equality and women’s rights after conflict.
Please click here to read the full “How women’s silence secures the peace: analysing sexual and gender-based violence in a low-intensity conflict” article in the Journal of Gender & Development co-authored by Associate Professor Sara E. Davies.
