Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action – a Critical Background Analysis

The document analyzes the application of gender mainstreaming in mine action, focusing on the Cambodian context. It argues that current efforts often rely on superficial indicators, such as head counts of female staff, rather than achieving genuine empowerment or influence for women in community consultations. The author critiques the tendency to equate gender issues solely with women's issues, noting that men also face gender-specific challenges as mine victims. The report suggests transitioning toward a rights-based approach to ensure that gender mainstreaming promotes equal access to benefits and decision-making power for all marginalized groups.

• Gender mainstreaming in mine action is frequently reduced to 'symbol politics' and superficial quantitative indicators, such as the number of female deminers or women attending meetings, rather than measuring actual empowerment or influence.
• There is a prevalent but flawed tendency among practitioners and women's organizations to equate gender issues exclusively with women's issues, ignoring the gendered impacts on men, such as the social and psychological pressures faced by injured male providers.
• Donor pressure is a primary driver for the adoption of gender strategies in mine action, but this often leads to a lack of internal ownership and a failure to adapt strategies to local cultural contexts.
• In Cambodia, MAG (Mines Advisory Group) employs a more integrated approach by targeting female-headed households for employment and utilizing mixed-sex teams to improve discipline and community relations.
• The HALO Trust rejects gender mainstreaming policies in Cambodia, viewing itself as a purely technical entity and arguing that mixed-sex teams in remote camps would threaten military-style discipline.
• The author proposes that gender mainstreaming should be integrated into a broader rights-based approach to development, shifting the focus from ad-hoc tools to the empowerment and free agency of all individuals in mine-affected communities.

APA

Wallacher, H. (2007). Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action – a Critical Background Analysis. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1036e722-b68e-40c8-934a-543565634d97/Gender_mainstreaming_in_mine_action_nov_07_background_report.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Wallacher, Hilde. Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action – a Critical Background Analysis. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2007. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1036e722-b68e-40c8-934a-543565634d97/Gender_mainstreaming_in_mine_action_nov_07_background_report.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wallacher |first1=Hilde |title=Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action – a Critical Background Analysis |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=November 2007 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1036e722-b68e-40c8-934a-543565634d97/Gender_mainstreaming_in_mine_action_nov_07_background_report.pdf?inline=true |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wallacher2007gender, author = {Wallacher, Hilde}, title = {{Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action – a Critical Background Analysis}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2007}, month = nov, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1036e722-b68e-40c8-934a-543565634d97/Gender_mainstreaming_in_mine_action_nov_07_background_report.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }