As stay-at-home orders took hold earlier this year, many women and girls around the world found themselves suddenly confined away from view with their abusers, even at gunpoint. Soon thereafter, the United Nations secretary-general was reporting signs of a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence”.

Ending the pandemic may bring little relief for these women, particularly in societies ravaged by armed conflict and violence. Left unaddressed, the waves of violence will continue to break against these women steadily.

Women everywhere share an equally immense stake in ending armed violence, and the world should give them every possible tool to counter it in homes, in communities, and around the globe. The horrible virus reigning over our lives only makes this task more urgent.

Twenty years ago, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, the first of several resolutions recognizing and reaffirming women’s significant role in promoting peace and security. Today, we understand better than ever how gender shape individual experiences of conflict and violence, including when weapons are involved. We also now better understand the subtle forces that stifle and drive the systematic exclusion of women’s voices from peacemaking, peacebuilding, conflict and violence prevention efforts.

Yet even 20 years after the Security Council adopted its first resolution on this issue, fundamental gender inequalities remain a fact in all our lives.

Lack of effective arms control and disarmament is one obstacle to achieving peace and gender justice. The proliferation of small arms enables sexual and gender-based violence in and outside of conflict. Arms races between countries and military spending claim growing shares of public funds that otherwise could improve social and economic opportunities for both women and men. Weapons—from handguns to nuclear bombs—feed into the norms, root causes and power relationships that enable and foster gender inequality.

Popular

Prabowo’s reshuffle bring ties with Jokowi back into focus

New islands appear after Anak Krakatau volcano erupts

The agrarian reform law and investment prospects of palm oil