Page 21 - Coespu 2020-1

can Republic, from April 2018 to
May 2019, was of great instabi-
lity, with the presence of armed
groups among the population,
implying strong interference in the
daily routine of the different loca-
tions in the country. The number
of rapes was too high, especial-
ly against women and girls who
were largely affected by confli-
ct-related sexual violence, despi-
te efforts to reverse the situation.
The population in most agricul-
tural, suffered from the constant
need for internal displacement, a
situation that resulted in high num-
bers of women and children on the
roads fetching water, wood for the
fire, but mainly, by accessing the the conflict affected the different eking to prevent violations by the
old plantations. This need for travel groups, men/women/boys/girls, presence of deployed troops,
increased exposure to threats pre- but also understanding the diffe- thus achieving greater effecti-
sent on the ground, especially when rences in each of them, such as veness in fulfilling the mandate.
conflict was stablished in the area. age/social status/religion, studying In this sense, there are groups of
Thus, in order to fulfill the Mandate the routine, as well as its possible engagement, mixed or composed
of MINUSCA, the United Nations changes still in the initial stage. only of women (Female Engage-
mission in the country, which had With the expansion of situational ment Team s - FET), which have
as its main objective the protection awareness about what was hap- been established in different sec-
of civilians, it was vital to use a pening in the area of responsi- tors, at the operational and tacti-
gender perspective in the activi- bility of the mission, it would be cal levels. In general, such groups
ties of its military component, se- possible to use the information were formed in battalions with a
eking a better understanding how obtained in military planning, se- significant number of female sol-
diers and their main purpose was
to meet the special needs of local
women, by greater interaction,
mainly due to the high number of
violations they suffered and the fact
that their participation was essen-
tial in the peace-building process.
At first, only the Zambian batta-
lion had an engagement group
working with the population and
received training in phase befo-
re split, presenting a professional
job and facing the area condi-
tions responsibility. Such a group
also had a type of patrol made
up of women only, called Confi-
dence Patrol, which served mainly
the areas with the highest concen-
tration of women and children,

21