Photo Credit: John Locher/AP Images. For decades, the number of mass shootings in the U.S. has steadily increased. From 1966 to 1975, the U.S. experienced a total of 12 mass shootings; during the time frame of 2006 to 2016, the U.S. has witnessed 183 mass shootings.[i] Many argue that easy access to firearms is to … Continue reading Bodies, Bullets, and Blood: How Masculinity Influences Mass Killers

Photo Credit: Getty Images In March 2011, Vogue ran a now infamous article on Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad titled “A Rose in the Desert.” The author, Joan Juliet Buck, extolled the glamour of the al-Assad family despite the well-known authoritarian nature of Bashar’s regime. As the Syrian state responded violently to the Arab Spring … Continue reading The Role of the Media in Normalizing Women’s Political Violence

Photo Credit: Kateryna Kyslyak / EyeEm Earlier this year, on March 8, women were celebrated all around the world for International Women’s Day. It has become a tradition that, on this day, speeches are spoken about the tremendous roles that women are playing in our societies and photos are shared about women we care about … Continue reading Gendering Security: Making Public Places Safe

Photo Credit: Courthouse News Service The recent violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia along the country’s northern border with Eritrea has been disproportionately victimizing women and children. The Ethiopian government and regional forces are using rape as a weapon of war to demoralize and terrorize local civilians.[1] Even once women flee to refugee camps … Continue reading Rape as a Weapon of War in Tigray

Businesswoman explaining new business strategy to coworkers sitting around table in conference room. Photo credit: Shutterstock/Jacob Lund Over the last 40 years, women have gained greater representation across the United States national security establishment.[i] From 1992-2012, the proportion of men and women in the general scale of federal service came closer to approaching equality overall; … Continue reading Who’s in the Room? Part II: The Case for Women’s Voices in National Security

Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Photo Credit: Getty Images/ The Washington Post As the world mourns the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her legacy continues to illuminate the gender disparity present throughout the United States. As the first woman to lie in state at the US Capitol,[i] and only the fourth woman to serve … Continue reading Where are the Women and Where are They Not: Why it’s Important

An Afghan National Army commando with 3rd Company, 1st Special Operations Kandak, looks through his scope as he patrols through a poppy field during a clearing operation in Khugyani District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, May 9, 2013. Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Kaily Brown. In June 2018, the Office of the Special Investigator … Continue reading Focusing on Women in the Fight Against Narcotics in Afghanistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia January 20, 2020. Photo Credit: Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin. On January 16, 2020, the world awoke to the news that the entire Russian government had resigned in response to President Vladimir Putin’s constitutional reforms announced in his … Continue reading How Putin’s Government Shakeup Could Enable a Feminist Perspective to Emerge in Russia