Thesis by Sarah Boyd
Building Spaces for Peace: Locating agency and empowerment in rights-based approaches to women’s ... more Building Spaces for Peace: Locating agency and empowerment in rights-based approaches to women’s community peacebuilding in Nepal
The end of armed conflict and the project to create a ‘New Nepal’ has paved the way for new spaces in which women can be recognised as active agents in building peace. This paper explores the nature of Nepalese women’s engagement in peacebuilding, the relationships between women’s participation and their empowerment, and the influence of international actors in this process.
The key argument presented in this paper is that prescriptive international approaches to peacebuilding overlook the local realities of gender roles and identities and the cultural context that inform women’s understandings of peace. This results in an unnecessary dichotomy between local and international meanings and approaches to women’s peacebuilding. This dichotomy is further accentuated by the assumption that raising women’s awareness of human rights constitutes their empowerment. This assumption neglects women’s own understandings of empowerment and their agency in that process. However, rather than passively adopting external meanings, Nepalese women strategically appropriate and reinterpret human rights language according to their own needs, values and aspirations.
In short, Nepalese women construct meanings as part of an ongoing process of
engagement in peacebuilding and human rights activities and it is through this process that empowerment can be located. It is difficult, therefore, to consider notions such as ‘peace’, ‘peacebuilding’, ‘human rights’ and ‘empowerment’ as anything but fluid and difficult to categorically define or situate entirely within the confines of template international programs that are transported into the local context. That is, there is an unexpected and positive outcome in this process of engagement which has enabled Nepalese women to assert their agency and negotiate an ‘opening of space’ for themselves in the New Nepal at both formal and informal levels of society.
Publications by Sarah Boyd
This publication features case studies that highlight Australia’s global efforts in advancing wom... more This publication features case studies that highlight Australia’s global efforts in advancing women’s economic empowerment through foreign policy advocacy, trade negotiations, economic diplomacy and aid investments. The case studies include examples of Australia’s investments in women’s entrepreneurship; commitment to creating better quality jobs, and a better policy environment for women; and efforts in promoting women’s economic empowerment through trade. Produced with Anu Mundur as lead author, with CARDNO Emerging Markets for DFAT.
This publication features case studies that highlight Australian-supported initiatives, organisat... more This publication features case studies that highlight Australian-supported initiatives, organisations and individuals addressing violence against women internationally. It includes case studies of programs
providing services for women who have been affected by violence, that improve access to justice for survivors and help women rebuild their lives, education to change attitudes towards violence, and engaging men
and boys in initiatives to prevent violence from occurring in the first place.
It includes case studies from Fiji, Myanmar, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Brazil and Vanuatu.
http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/international-relations/Pages/safe-homes-and-safe-communities.aspx
2015 marks the 15th anniversary of the passing of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution... more 2015 marks the 15th anniversary of the passing of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. This publication presents case studies of Australian supported foreign policy and and aid program initiatives contributing to the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. These include work through United Nations agencies, partner governments, civil society, women and women’s organisations to ensure that women have a central place in international peace and security efforts.
Publications as Contributor by Sarah Boyd
The Institute of Human Rights Communication, Nepal (IHRICON) conducted action research in late 20... more The Institute of Human Rights Communication, Nepal (IHRICON) conducted action research in late 2006 in conflict affected Districts of Banke, Bardia, Doti, Achham and Rolpa in Nepal. The major objective of this research was to identify the nature, scale and impact of sexual violence against girls and women during the armed conflict from 1995-2005. This report also identified the incidence of rape and sexual violence amongst young women and girls in Nepal in the vicinity of Maoist and security forces barracks.
The study found that during People’s War, there have been grave violations of women’s and girls’ human rights. This study aims to generate information to develop and strengthen the response as well as prevention of sexual violence in the post-conflict period in Nepal.
The Australian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2012-2018 (Australian NAP) is th... more The Australian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2012-2018 (Australian NAP) is the Australian Government’s primary mechanism for fulfilling its commitment to turn the landmark United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda into action.
The Australian NAP calls for two independent reviews during the 2012–2018 period. The first is an interim review in 2015. The second is a final review to be conducted in 2018.
This report provides the findings from the independent interim review of the Australian NAP. The focus of the interim review was on tracking whole of government progress on the implementation of the actions under the Australian NAP, analysing their relevance against the intended outcomes, and analysing the relevance of the Australian NAP to inform actions to implement the WPS Agenda more broadly.
The interim review also assessed the extent to which the framework, actions and processes of the Australian NAP can sustain a final assessment of its effectiveness, including its capacity to address new and emerging issues in the WPS agenda and the critical role of civil society.
Australia's National Voluntary Presentation (NVP) in 2010 to the Economic and Social Council of t... more Australia's National Voluntary Presentation (NVP) in 2010 to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations: “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women” for the annual
ministerial review to be held during the high-level segment of the substantive session of 2010 of the Economic and Social Council.
Report prepared by team of three authors as staff members from the United Nations and Commonwealth Section of the Australian Agency fro International Development (AusAID) (2010).
Conference Presentations by Sarah Boyd
This presentation will reflect on the Australian National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and S... more This presentation will reflect on the Australian National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security as one key accountability mechanism for holding UN Member States to account on their commitments to implementing UNSC resolution 1325, protecting women's rights and promoting their active roles in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. This presentation covers the following issues: 1. The unique insight into working on the development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of a National Action Plan 2. The process of formulating, and the format of, the Australian National Action Plan 3. Ten challenges and limits of the Australian National Action Plan, and 4. Ways forward to enhance the impact of NAPs and implement Resolution 1325.
Negotiating a Space in the New Nepal: Using Resolution 1325 to promote grassroots women’s peacebu... more Negotiating a Space in the New Nepal: Using Resolution 1325 to promote grassroots women’s peacebuilding
Paper presented by Sarah Boyd at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Women’s Peace and Security in September 2009, Manila (the Philippines)
The end of armed conflict and the project to create a ‘New Nepal’ has paved the way for new spaces and domains in which women can be recognised as active agents in building peace. This paper explores the nature of Nepalese women’s engagement in informal peacebuilding at the grassroots level and whether this work can be utilised as a platform to engage in formal peace processes. In doing so, it highlights the importance of recognising and understanding women’s diverse roles as agents during conflict and in peace processes. It presents the everyday practices of Nepalese women involved in peace and human rights activities through a case study of the Community Peace Volunteer program coordinated by the Institute of Human Rights Communication in Nepal (IHRICON). This responds to numerous calls from scholars and practitioners to better understand the experiences of grassroots women peacebuilders. This paper also explores the central role of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000) in supporting Nepalese women’s peacebuilding efforts by exploring its use as an advocacy tool in formal peace processes and as a training and advocacy tool at the local level to raise awareness of rights.
The key argument presented in this paper is that Resolution 1325 has the potential to support peacebuilding work at the grassroots, by bridging formal and informal peace processes and raising women’s voices from the local to national levels. By recognising women as active agents in post-conflict transition in this way, women may be enabled to negotiate through new spaces and domains opening in society. Central to this process is the ability of women’s civil society organisations to form alliances and platforms from which they can use Resolution 1325 to pressure government and international agencies while also promoting the voices of those at the grassroots. In short, there may be an unexpected and positive outcome in the process of Nepalese women’s engagement in peacebuilding that has enabled them to assert their agency and negotiate, at both formal and informal levels of society, a space for themselves in the New Nepal.
Making the Gender Agents Visible: Strategies to Support Women’s Peacebuilding in South Asia - Pre... more Making the Gender Agents Visible: Strategies to Support Women’s Peacebuilding in South Asia - Presentation to Side Event on Engaging Women for Resolving Conflicts in South Asia at the 58th Commission on the Status of Women in New York (13 March 2014)
Talks by Sarah Boyd
Human Rights, Gender Equality and Australian Foreign Policy – Is Australia a Good International C... more Human Rights, Gender Equality and Australian Foreign Policy – Is Australia a Good International Citizen?
Presentation to the Regional Schools Constitutional Convention in Melbourne, Australia, Friday 28 August 2015 as part of the event theme:
“Australia’s Constitution should be fully amended to reflect our status as good global citizens.”
Speakers Panel:
• Mr Josh Frydenberg MP, Federal Member for Kooyong, Minister for the Environment and Energy
• Ms Sarah Boyd, Founder and Principal Consultant, The Gender Agency
• Mr Isaac Smith, Executive Marketing Manager
Articles by Sarah Boyd
The Personal is the Political: Civil Society and Contested Spaces at the Commission on the Status... more The Personal is the Political: Civil Society and Contested Spaces at the Commission on the Status of Women. Paper by Sarah Boyd, Civil Society Delegate on the Australian Government Delegation to the 60th Commission on the Status of Women in New York (March, 2016).
‘I am compelled to challenge the reality that negotiations over women’s rights will be interminably protracted and expected to involve a ‘traditional suite of controversial issues’. A strong civil society is critical for undertaking this challenge. The solutions to countering all forms of violence and addressing patriarchal and structural inequalities that will prevent us from achieving Agenda 2030 and the Global Goals roadmap – globally and in Australia –requires and demands a strong feminist civil society.’
In 2015, the UN held a High Level Review and undertook a Global Study on the implementation to Un... more In 2015, the UN held a High Level Review and undertook a Global Study on the implementation to United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000): 'Preventing Conflict, Transforming Justice, Securing the Peace'. This article explores three key issues raised in the global study, which are designed as a significant course correction to the UN's peace and conflict work.
Papers by Sarah Boyd
The Australian Government’s Foreign Policy White Paper under development in 2017 aims to articula... more The Australian Government’s Foreign Policy White Paper under development in 2017 aims to articulate ‘Australia’s place in the world’ and guide the nation’s international engagement over the coming decade. It aims to identify ‘foreign, security, economic and international development issues and global trends shaping Australia’s international environment’; and define policy priorities in response.3 In other words, how will Australia identify, articulate and address the complex array of wicked and global policy challenges it faces? Internationally, Australian foreign aid and humanitarian assistance continue to play an important role in addressing many of the challenges the White paper will identify. Domestically, the ‘inputs’ to effective foreign aid – the funding, governance, administration and management arrangements – will also have significant influence on Australia’s efforts to reduce poverty, achieve sustainable and alleviate humanitarian suffering. In
support of this important task, however, there remains limited Public Administration4 literature on the domestic reform experience and administrative challenges of foreign aid. This is interesting, given the monumental shifts in governance, administration and management of Australia’s foreign aid since 2013, following the ‘integration’ of the former Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).5
This paper presents a principal lesson that a holistic understanding of Australia’s foreign aid sector must account for the complex relationship between the government’s aid policies (influenced primarily by global aid
norms, institutions and epistemic communities of practice) and the domestic political and bureaucratic context in which it is embedded. There is thus a continual tension between international policy trends and influences and domestic political pressures. To understand foreign aid and how it plays out in Port Moresby, Jakarta, Accra or Islamabad, we have to understand the politics of administering the aid program from Canberra’s corridors. This paper therefore aims to contribute to an emerging Australian and international literature by applying contemporary Public Administration and Management concepts and debates to better understand and address the challenges ahead for Australia’s foreign aid administration. These issues are of interest in,
and pose challenges for, the study of governance, public administration and management in Australia and internationally, as well as for foreign aid administrators and policy makers. The announcement in April 2017
of the Trump administrations plans to fold USAID into the US State Department and significantly reduce funding, highlight that this issue has currency for public administration and political scientists, as well as policy makers.6
'Governments across the developed world are preaching the gospel of collaboration, cooperation an... more 'Governments across the developed world are preaching the gospel of collaboration, cooperation and coordination, and are realising that their objectives cannot be achieved without collaboration with others. The big question is: is the rhetoric matched by the reality or are governments merely mouthing platitudes? Do they really mean what they profess; do governments talk of collaboration genuinely and meaningfully or do they do so partially and largely with their own interests at heart?...Questions of motivation and integrity are fundamental to the process of collaboration.' Professor Allan Fels AO, In Preface to Collaborative Governance: A new era of public policy in Australia? 2 Collaborative governance is an increasingly prominent feature of public management and policy making in Australia. 3 Indeed, there has been much promise over the past decade for models of collaborative governance to usher in 'a new era of public policy in Australia'. 4 Scholars have provided various explanations for this trend, many of which share the reasoning that the 'increasing turbulence' faced by policy makers and managers in a more complex and globalised world necessitates governments to collaborate with others to achieve public objectives. 5 This paper explores issues raised in Alan Fels' 2008 statement which are remain relevant and challenging in Australian policy making. In particular, is government rhetoric of collaboration matched by reality; and is government genuinely collaborating to deliver more effective policy? In this paper, Section 1 explores the concept of collaborative governance in the Australian context, focused on the Ansell and Gash (2007) framework. Section 2 then provides an overview of the case study, introducing international and national 'Women, Peace and Security' policy-making and the governance arrangements for implementing the Australian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2012-18). 6 Section 3 applies the collaborative governance framework to the governance arrangements for Australia's National Action Plan to address the question: in practice, does the government's rhetoric of collaboration match the reality? Lastly, Section 4 concludes and presents implications for more effective policy making in this area.
'Building a Feminist Foreign Policy: Australia’s opportunity to advance a new human rights-based ... more 'Building a Feminist Foreign Policy: Australia’s opportunity to advance a new human rights-based and feminist informed approach to foreign policy, international development and humanitarian assistance.' Submission to the Australian Foreign Policy White Paper consultations, February 2017.
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Thesis by Sarah Boyd
The end of armed conflict and the project to create a ‘New Nepal’ has paved the way for new spaces in which women can be recognised as active agents in building peace. This paper explores the nature of Nepalese women’s engagement in peacebuilding, the relationships between women’s participation and their empowerment, and the influence of international actors in this process.
The key argument presented in this paper is that prescriptive international approaches to peacebuilding overlook the local realities of gender roles and identities and the cultural context that inform women’s understandings of peace. This results in an unnecessary dichotomy between local and international meanings and approaches to women’s peacebuilding. This dichotomy is further accentuated by the assumption that raising women’s awareness of human rights constitutes their empowerment. This assumption neglects women’s own understandings of empowerment and their agency in that process. However, rather than passively adopting external meanings, Nepalese women strategically appropriate and reinterpret human rights language according to their own needs, values and aspirations.
In short, Nepalese women construct meanings as part of an ongoing process of
engagement in peacebuilding and human rights activities and it is through this process that empowerment can be located. It is difficult, therefore, to consider notions such as ‘peace’, ‘peacebuilding’, ‘human rights’ and ‘empowerment’ as anything but fluid and difficult to categorically define or situate entirely within the confines of template international programs that are transported into the local context. That is, there is an unexpected and positive outcome in this process of engagement which has enabled Nepalese women to assert their agency and negotiate an ‘opening of space’ for themselves in the New Nepal at both formal and informal levels of society.
Publications by Sarah Boyd
providing services for women who have been affected by violence, that improve access to justice for survivors and help women rebuild their lives, education to change attitudes towards violence, and engaging men
and boys in initiatives to prevent violence from occurring in the first place.
It includes case studies from Fiji, Myanmar, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Brazil and Vanuatu.
http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/international-relations/Pages/safe-homes-and-safe-communities.aspx
Publications as Contributor by Sarah Boyd
The study found that during People’s War, there have been grave violations of women’s and girls’ human rights. This study aims to generate information to develop and strengthen the response as well as prevention of sexual violence in the post-conflict period in Nepal.
The Australian NAP calls for two independent reviews during the 2012–2018 period. The first is an interim review in 2015. The second is a final review to be conducted in 2018.
This report provides the findings from the independent interim review of the Australian NAP. The focus of the interim review was on tracking whole of government progress on the implementation of the actions under the Australian NAP, analysing their relevance against the intended outcomes, and analysing the relevance of the Australian NAP to inform actions to implement the WPS Agenda more broadly.
The interim review also assessed the extent to which the framework, actions and processes of the Australian NAP can sustain a final assessment of its effectiveness, including its capacity to address new and emerging issues in the WPS agenda and the critical role of civil society.
ministerial review to be held during the high-level segment of the substantive session of 2010 of the Economic and Social Council.
Report prepared by team of three authors as staff members from the United Nations and Commonwealth Section of the Australian Agency fro International Development (AusAID) (2010).
Conference Presentations by Sarah Boyd
Paper presented by Sarah Boyd at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Women’s Peace and Security in September 2009, Manila (the Philippines)
The end of armed conflict and the project to create a ‘New Nepal’ has paved the way for new spaces and domains in which women can be recognised as active agents in building peace. This paper explores the nature of Nepalese women’s engagement in informal peacebuilding at the grassroots level and whether this work can be utilised as a platform to engage in formal peace processes. In doing so, it highlights the importance of recognising and understanding women’s diverse roles as agents during conflict and in peace processes. It presents the everyday practices of Nepalese women involved in peace and human rights activities through a case study of the Community Peace Volunteer program coordinated by the Institute of Human Rights Communication in Nepal (IHRICON). This responds to numerous calls from scholars and practitioners to better understand the experiences of grassroots women peacebuilders. This paper also explores the central role of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000) in supporting Nepalese women’s peacebuilding efforts by exploring its use as an advocacy tool in formal peace processes and as a training and advocacy tool at the local level to raise awareness of rights.
The key argument presented in this paper is that Resolution 1325 has the potential to support peacebuilding work at the grassroots, by bridging formal and informal peace processes and raising women’s voices from the local to national levels. By recognising women as active agents in post-conflict transition in this way, women may be enabled to negotiate through new spaces and domains opening in society. Central to this process is the ability of women’s civil society organisations to form alliances and platforms from which they can use Resolution 1325 to pressure government and international agencies while also promoting the voices of those at the grassroots. In short, there may be an unexpected and positive outcome in the process of Nepalese women’s engagement in peacebuilding that has enabled them to assert their agency and negotiate, at both formal and informal levels of society, a space for themselves in the New Nepal.
Talks by Sarah Boyd
Presentation to the Regional Schools Constitutional Convention in Melbourne, Australia, Friday 28 August 2015 as part of the event theme:
“Australia’s Constitution should be fully amended to reflect our status as good global citizens.”
Speakers Panel:
• Mr Josh Frydenberg MP, Federal Member for Kooyong, Minister for the Environment and Energy
• Ms Sarah Boyd, Founder and Principal Consultant, The Gender Agency
• Mr Isaac Smith, Executive Marketing Manager
Articles by Sarah Boyd
‘I am compelled to challenge the reality that negotiations over women’s rights will be interminably protracted and expected to involve a ‘traditional suite of controversial issues’. A strong civil society is critical for undertaking this challenge. The solutions to countering all forms of violence and addressing patriarchal and structural inequalities that will prevent us from achieving Agenda 2030 and the Global Goals roadmap – globally and in Australia –requires and demands a strong feminist civil society.’
Papers by Sarah Boyd
support of this important task, however, there remains limited Public Administration4 literature on the domestic reform experience and administrative challenges of foreign aid. This is interesting, given the monumental shifts in governance, administration and management of Australia’s foreign aid since 2013, following the ‘integration’ of the former Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).5
This paper presents a principal lesson that a holistic understanding of Australia’s foreign aid sector must account for the complex relationship between the government’s aid policies (influenced primarily by global aid
norms, institutions and epistemic communities of practice) and the domestic political and bureaucratic context in which it is embedded. There is thus a continual tension between international policy trends and influences and domestic political pressures. To understand foreign aid and how it plays out in Port Moresby, Jakarta, Accra or Islamabad, we have to understand the politics of administering the aid program from Canberra’s corridors. This paper therefore aims to contribute to an emerging Australian and international literature by applying contemporary Public Administration and Management concepts and debates to better understand and address the challenges ahead for Australia’s foreign aid administration. These issues are of interest in,
and pose challenges for, the study of governance, public administration and management in Australia and internationally, as well as for foreign aid administrators and policy makers. The announcement in April 2017
of the Trump administrations plans to fold USAID into the US State Department and significantly reduce funding, highlight that this issue has currency for public administration and political scientists, as well as policy makers.6