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When Peace Excludes: Gendered Barriers in Demobilization Processes

  • Vicka Heidt & Jessica Anania

Across conflict settings, women’s participation in armed groups is both substantial and increasing. Yet, Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) processes continue to neglect women—reflecting outdated assumptions about who participates in conflict and who should qualify for reintegration support.

Women’s Participation in Armed Groups is Significant

  • Women’s representation in armed forces rose by 27 percent from 2016 to 2022. For example, in Ukraine, women now comprise roughly one-fifth of troops.
  • Women were present in roughly 63 percent of rebel organizations between 1946 and 2015.

Women are Often Overlooked in Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration 

Conversations about who is a participant in conflict and who receives reintegration support continue to overlook women. Even where gender provisions exist, they are often not operationalized due to inadequate funding, staffing, or program design. 

  • Male-Centric Eligibility: Programs often prioritize combatants based on weapon possession. In Sierra Leone, this requirement meant many women, who held vital roles but rarely owned weapons, were denied access to benefits.
  • The “Self-Demobilization” Trap: To avoid the intense social stigma and ostracization faced by female ex-combatants, many women “self-demobilize.” In doing so, they forfeit access to job training and healthcare, deepening their post-conflict marginalization.
  • Lack of Transformation: Rather than leveraging wartime leadership skills, programs often push women back into traditional roles. In Sri Lanka, for example, former senior female combatants were funneled into programs emphasizing “homemaking” rather than marketable economic opportunities.
  • The Implementation Gap: Across contexts, fewer than one-third of DDR programs meaningfully integrate gender considerations beyond symbolic rhetoric. A 2025 GIWPS survey of nearly 3,000 women peacebuilders found that over half of respondents rated DDR programs as ineffective or neither effective nor ineffective. 
  • These implementation gaps remain pronounced despite longstanding commitments under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda—including explicit guidance under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and subsequent frameworks—and point to a persistent disconnect between policy commitments and operational realities.

Excluding Women in DDR Processes Has Serious Consequences

When women are excluded from eligibility criteria, outreach mechanisms, or reintegration support, DDR programs risk incomplete disarmament, weakened reintegration, and reduced legitimacy within affected communities. These outcomes can ultimately undermine broader stabilization efforts.

This report interrogates why gender-responsive DDR is essential for durable security and offers lessons from past practice by identifying three barriers that have prevented DDR from including women effectively: limited awareness of women’s issues, roles, and needs; a lack of socioeconomic transformation; and restrictive gender norms and stigma.

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