GENDER ADVISORS IN THE SERBIAN SECURITY SECTOR
GENDER ADVISORS IN THE SERBIAN SECURITY SECTOR

Author(s): Gorana Odanović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Governance, Sociology, Security and defense
Published by: BCBP Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku
Keywords: security sector; gender studies; gender equality; Serbia; gender advisor
Summary/Abstract: Mechanisms for introducing a gender equality policy into security sector governance, aimed at bringing about gender-sensitive treatment of women beneficiaries of the security system, are still lacking in Serbia. One way to ensure that gender equality issues are continuously addressed is to create a specific position for an individual whose job would be to advise top management about measures for improving gender equality. The National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Serbia envisages the introduction of a gender advisor to the minister/director at the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, the Customs Administration, the Security-Information Agency, and the Administration for Enforcement of Penal Sanctions. The advisor’s task would be to advise managers during the process of developing and implementing policies, with the goal of facilitating respect for the rights of women and men, both those employed in the security sector and those who use the services provided by security sector institutions. The same document envisages the inclusion of gender advisors in the composition of Serbian contingents in multinational operations. The intention of this text is to provide a position description, a method for selecting the gender advisor, and the ideal profile of a gender advisor. Conclusions and recommendations are made, based on the experience of other countries and on guidelines provided by participants in a specific round table on gender advisors, organised by the BCSP with the support of DCAF, and in workshops on gender advisors, organised by the BFPE in cooperation with BCSP with the financial support of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, within the framework of the training programme “Introduction of a Gender Perspective into Security Sector Reform”.

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