Closing the gaps for a more effective Gender Based Violence response in Colombia

The humanitarian situation of Colombia and its starling rates of gender based violence principally against the female Internal Displaced Population (IDP) continue to be of profound concern. As a result of recent court rulings and unquestionable international pressure, Colombian institutions in preventing, protecting and responding to Gender Based Violence (GBV) have been forced to integrate a gender perspective with the aim of decreasing inequality and consequently violence against women. Such events have led this research to take a closer historical look of gender mainstreaming analysing from the introduction of gender mainstreaming by the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social council in 1997 (Charlesworth, 2005:4) to the present day gender mainstreaming with institutions involved in the Colombian conflict. The research will fundamentally question if this strategy has had a positive impact in decreasing inequality, improving the conditions of women and essentially decreasing the heinous rates of GBV in Colombia. An initial analysis was carried out on gender mainstreaming, looking at the timeline from the Beijing conference up until the present day but with a focus always on gender mainstreaming in humanitarian crises. What was discovered quickly and early on in the assessment was that gender mainstreaming since its introduction and up until now has utterly failed in meeting its objectives of equality and empowerment of women. This outcome was then contextualised within the conflict of Colombia and against the backdrop of high rates of GBV. It was further found that the integration of the gender perspective had not made the transformative change which women particularly female IDPs in Colombia were and still are in desperate need of. What was evident was that having a gender lens on the immediate care of victims of GBV was fundamental, nevertheless many IDP victims required more long term sustainable assistance as a result of the prolonged form of the Colombian conflict. Unfortunately when it came to the longer term perspective organisations were failing victims and falling short of providing a stronger rights based approach. This paradox of assistance to female IDPs who want a rights based approach but are only provided needs based assistance (food, health, shelter) has created gaps in protection and left female IDPs in a state of heightened vulnerability. This research therefore explored a strategy to close such gaps by integrating and connecting better gender and rights perspectives. In this way female IDPs can develop a greater awareness of their rights and know exactly how to reclaim such rights, converting many victims into change agents (which many desire to be) rather than leaving them as helpless victims. The time has come for organisations to respond to GBV not just as a problem of humanity but rather as fundamental violation of women´s rights and thus the human rights of the Colombian female population.