In northern Uganda, the Acholi communities are settling back into their villages after years of insecurity and internal displacement as a result of the conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. The conflict, displacement and return process had different impacts on men, women, boys and girls. The consequences of this require gender-relational approaches to peacebuilding.
International Alert is taking stock [4] of current approaches to Gender in peacebuilding. We are looking particularly at peacebuilding approaches that involve both women and men, rather than using the word ‘gender’ to focus solely on women and girls. The current phase of the research is investigating this approach using four country case studies - Uganda, Burundi, Colombia and Nepal. The case studies will inform a report drawing lessons on a global level in four core areas:
- Post-conflict access to justice
- Economic recovery
- Intergenerational conflict
- Behavioural change and the continuum of violence at domestic, community and national levels.
We have just completed a field research trip in Uganda, interviewing the staff and stakeholders of three projects - the Refugee Law Project, a CARE project called “Roco Kwo”: Transforming Lives in Acholi, and a small local project in northern Uganda.
The Refugee Law Project (RLP) provides legal and psychosocial aid to forced migrants and undertakes research and advocacy on justice issues. It is the main organisation in Uganda to support male victims of sexual violence and to draw international attention to this taboo subject. RLP has presented its research in documentary films which you can find here [5]. 
We interviewed project staff and stakeholders of Roco Kwo, a CARE project which is funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented through multiple local partner organisations in the northern Uganda districts of Gulu and Nowya. Roco Kwo uses a holistic approach to address the complex needs of the Acholi Region, by focusing on creating economic self-reliance, improving safety and empowering women to become more involved in decision making processes at all levels.
Roco Kwo targets local leaders in advocacy forums, and involves men in the struggle to reduce sexual and gender based violence by promoting the notion of Role Model Men who respect and promote the rights of women and advocate this to other men. It also sets up Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) groups that aim to enhance the livelihood capabilities and transform the lives of group members.
The third project was a year-long community psychosocial project set up by Colette Harris of the University of East Anglia. A year of discovery-based educational discussion groups focused on challenging local gender identities and achieved a social transformation. The impact of this work is still visible two years after the completion of the project: social and family relations that broke down during years in the refugee camps have been rebuilt, awareness of gender balance has been raised and domestic violence has been reduced.
The final part of the research trip reviewed the national debates on gender and peacebuilding policy with government officials, academics and civil society in Uganda’s capital Kampala. Similar field research is planned in Colombia, Burundi and Nepal in the following months.