22 Gender and Security Toolkit Box 6: Parliamentary oversight in conflict-affected contexts Parliaments must be cognizant of the fact that gender roles undergo significant change in times of conflict and in post-conflict peace processes. Peace processes provide distinct opportunities for parliaments to make their oversight of the security sector more inclusive and diverse. During conflict, women and men take on new responsibilities. For women this frequently entails serving in counter-traditional roles. In the post-conflict stage, there are new opportunities for women to be integrated into security sector institutions and parliament. Women are increasingly participating in peace negotiations, donor conferences and other reconstruction planning processes. Based on these experiences and having participated in an armed struggle, women are demanding that they be included in post-conflict political structures. Furthermore, peace processes can present opportunities for former armed combatants to undergo gender training. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes can present opportunities to close the gender gap – for example, female ex-combatants can be given the opportunity to join security sector institutions. A parliament that enacts effective legislation with regard to GBV ensures that laws are written in gender-sensitive language. It makes sure that laws do not exclude men or women, or give the impression that they apply only to a particular sector of the population. To avoid exclusion and discrimination, security legislation and policy use language which acknowledges that society, as well as any specific institution, consists of different groups with different needs. Appropriate language also serves as a reminder that certain positions within the security sector are not reserved for men or women only.9 To address GBV better, specialized police stations for women have been created in several Latin American countries. The idea behind such stations is that women feel freer to report sexual violence when they do not have to face male officers. Nicaragua is one country that stands out in successfully creating police stations for women while showing the complexities involved in addressing GBV.* Although Nicaraguan women who experienced GBV initially came forward in greater numbers, recently passed national legislation has taken a step backwards. A new law requires that victims of GBV first engage in reconciliation efforts with the perpetrator before further legal steps can be taken, and this has resulted in a decrease in the number of women coming forward to confront their perpetrators. This demonstrates that it is crucial for parliamentarians to review the legislative framework with a view to identifying legal gaps or conflicting laws that hamper efforts to tackle GBV. Moreover, parliament must assess the possible negative and positive impacts of proposed legislative changes on men, boys, women and girls in all parts of society. 4.3 Gender is mainstreamed into budgeting The “power of the purse” is at the heart of parliamentary powers in security sector governance. A parliament that carries out effective oversight of the security sector to advance gender equality takes a systematic approach to integrating a gender perspective in the evaluation and approval of budget proposals and procurement. This requires developing insight into the impact that government policies, budgetary allocations and expenditures have on women, girls, men and boys, as well as individuals of various backgrounds. It assesses “whether gender-blind or gender-biased assumptions have been made about the beneficiaries of a process or policy, who the process or policy target is, and whether all groups will benefit equally”.10 * Discussed in Tool 2, “Gender and Policing”.