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"Boys will be boys" : en feministisk kritik av Secretary General’s Bulletin gällande sexual exploitation and abuse i peacekeeping operations

Altebo, Petra LU (2013) MRSG20 20131
Human Rights Studies
Abstract
Peacekeepers buying sex entails a complex and specific problem for the UN, it tarnishes the reputation and credibility of the organization and contributes to preserve gender inequality. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Secretary General’s Bulletin regarding sexual exploitation and abuse using a feminist perspective to find out the UN’s view on women and prostitution in peacekeeping operations. The research question is if and how the UN policy on sexual exploitation approaches women and power in a way that prevents these problems from being solved.
I have used critical discourse analysis with a feminist theory and found that the policy has a direct impact on how prostitution is valued and that implementation of this policy is... (More)
Peacekeepers buying sex entails a complex and specific problem for the UN, it tarnishes the reputation and credibility of the organization and contributes to preserve gender inequality. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Secretary General’s Bulletin regarding sexual exploitation and abuse using a feminist perspective to find out the UN’s view on women and prostitution in peacekeeping operations. The research question is if and how the UN policy on sexual exploitation approaches women and power in a way that prevents these problems from being solved.
I have used critical discourse analysis with a feminist theory and found that the policy has a direct impact on how prostitution is valued and that implementation of this policy is more complicated than the UN has admitted. The Bulletin does not offer tools to combat prostitution and there are no legal consequences, indicating that there is still no consensus within the UN regarding this problem. It portrays women as inherently vulnerable instead of highlighting the unequal power relations that puts women in a vulnerable position. In addition the zero tolerance policy expresses an imperial view that puts women in a situation of multiple levels of oppression. The primary focus of the UN is in this case the reputation of the organization rather than human rights and equality. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Altebo, Petra LU
supervisor
organization
course
MRSG20 20131
year
type
L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
subject
keywords
feminism, sexual exploitation and abuse, peacekeepers, UN, prostitution, women, power structures, Human rights, Mänskliga rättigheter
language
Swedish
id
3801913
date added to LUP
2013-07-18 16:26:09
date last changed
2014-09-04 08:27:37
@misc{3801913,
  abstract     = {{Peacekeepers buying sex entails a complex and specific problem for the UN, it tarnishes the reputation and credibility of the organization and contributes to preserve gender inequality. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Secretary General’s Bulletin regarding sexual exploitation and abuse using a feminist perspective to find out the UN’s view on women and prostitution in peacekeeping operations. The research question is if and how the UN policy on sexual exploitation approaches women and power in a way that prevents these problems from being solved.
I have used critical discourse analysis with a feminist theory and found that the policy has a direct impact on how prostitution is valued and that implementation of this policy is more complicated than the UN has admitted. The Bulletin does not offer tools to combat prostitution and there are no legal consequences, indicating that there is still no consensus within the UN regarding this problem. It portrays women as inherently vulnerable instead of highlighting the unequal power relations that puts women in a vulnerable position. In addition the zero tolerance policy expresses an imperial view that puts women in a situation of multiple levels of oppression. The primary focus of the UN is in this case the reputation of the organization rather than human rights and equality.}},
  author       = {{Altebo, Petra}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"Boys will be boys" : en feministisk kritik av Secretary General’s Bulletin gällande sexual exploitation and abuse i peacekeeping operations}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}