Understanding women’s experience of violence and the political economy of gender in conflict: the case of Syria
Open accessAbstract
Political conflicts create significant risks for women, as new forms and pathways of violence emerge, and existing patterns of violence may get amplified and intensified. The systematic use of sexual violence as a tactic of war is well-documented. Emergent narratives from the Middle East also highlight increasing risk and incidence of violence among displaced populations in refugee camps in countries bordering states affected by conflict. However, much less is known about the changing nature of violence and associated risks and lived experiences of women across a continuum of violence faced within the country and across national borders. Discussion on violence against women (VAW) in conflict settings is often stripped of an understanding of the changing political economy of the state and how it structures gender relations, before, during and after a conflict, creating particular risks of violence and shaping women's experiences. Drawing on a review of grey and published literature and authors' experiences, this paper examines this underexplored dimension of VAW in political conflicts, by identifying risk environments and lived realities of violence experienced by women in the Syrian conflict, a context that is itself poorly understood. We argue for multi-level analysis of women's experiences of violence, taking into account the impact of the political economy of the wider region as shaping the lived realities of violence and women's response, as well as their access to resources for resistance and recovery.
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A political economy framework has previously been applied to understand gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings including Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, and South Sudan.
“A political economy framework has previously been applied to better understand gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings, including Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, and South Sudan (Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016;Hashim, 2019;Kostovicova et al., 2020).”
From Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016
During and after war, weak or dysfunctional state institutions can translate into poor policies and protections for people experiencing sexual and gender-based violence.
“During and after war, weak or dysfunctional state institutions can translate into poor policies and protections for people experiencing sexual and gender-based violence (Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016;Kostovicova et al., 2020).”
From Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016
The available copy contains a truncated title and links, but no substantive passages or page labels. Searches for weak state institutions, policies, and protections for people experiencing sexual and gender-based violence returned no text addressing the claim. The paper’s argument therefore cannot be assessed from this copy. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThese analyses highlight that war is often the result of regional powers with differing ideologies and political goals, or broader historical and socio-economic phenomena such as colonialism, neoliberal policies, and globalization.
“These analyses highlight how war is often the result of regional powers with differing ideologies and political goals, or broader historical and socio-economic phenomena, such as colonialism, neoliberal policies, and globalization, that affect resource flows and power dynamics both between and within countries (Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016;Hashim, 2019;Kostovicova et al., 2020).”
From Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016
The available copy contains a truncated title and lists of URLs, with no substantive passage or page reference addressing the causes of war. Searches for regional powers, proxy war, colonialism, neoliberalism, and globalization did not retrieve text that could verify the attribution. (LLM, conf=0.72)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredHealth and social services are often destroyed and healthcare workers targeted during conflict, making it increasingly difficult for survivors to access support.
“Often, health and social services are destroyed and healthcare workers targeted during conflict, making it increasingly difficult for survivors to access support (Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016).”
From Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016
The indexed copy returns only the title and lists of URLs, with no substantive passage or section/page information. Searches for targeted healthcare workers, destroyed services, and survivors’ access to support found no text that establishes or contradicts the claim. (LLM, conf=0.70)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredGrowing dissatisfaction and inequality can lead to the rise of rebel groups or militias and the outbreak of war.
“Growing dissatisfaction and inequality can lead to the rise of rebel groups or militias and the outbreak of war (Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016;Hashim, 2019).”
From Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016
The matching passages in our indexed copy are URL lists with no section or page labels, not prose discussing the causes of war. Searches for dissatisfaction, economic inequality, armed groups, and the Syrian uprising found no passage saying that these factors lead to militias or war. (LLM, conf=0.72)
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During war, violence against women, including rape, abduction, and forced recruitment into rebel groups, can be used to achieve goals such as intimidation and political repression.
“During war, violence against women, including rape, abduction, and forced recruitment into rebel groups, can be used to achieve goals such as intimidation and political repression (Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016;Hashim, 2019).”
From Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study (2025) · cites this paper as Alsaba & Kapilashrami, 2016
The available indexed passages have no section or page labels and consist almost entirely of links, rather than the paper’s substantive text. Searches for forced recruitment, rape, abduction, intimidation, and political repression found no passage stating how violence against women was used during war. The claim therefore cannot be checked against our copy. (LLM, conf=0.72)
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Wringe, A., Yankah, E., Parks, T., Mohamed, O., Saleh, M., Speed, O., Hémono, R., Relyea, B., Ibrahim, M., Sandhu, J. S., et al. (2019) · BMC Women's Health · doi:10.1186/s12905-019-0710-9 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Sexual and gender-based violence against South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: a mixed-methods study
Michaelsen, S. (2025) · Université de Montréal · doi:10.71781/1596
- Authors
- Alsaba, K., & Kapilashrami, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Kapilashrami, Anuj
- ORCID
- Kapilashrami, Anuj
- Venue
- Reproductive Health Matters
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-01
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 47
- Pages
- 5-17
- ISSN
- 0968-8080 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-9576
- OpenAlex
- W2417310936
- Cited by
- 94
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 23.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Reproductive Health Matters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Security, and Conflict
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Conflict Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Gender, Violence, Rights in Latin America
- Keywords
- violence against women, Syrian civil war, political economy of gender, gender relations, sexual violence in armed conflict, refugee camps, displacement, multilevel analysis, Middle East conflict
- MeSH terms
- Crime, Female, Homicide, Humans, Male, Politics, Sex Work, Sex Offenses, Syria, Torture, Violence, War Crimes, Women's Rights, Women's Health, Enslavement
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