Background It has been said that in times of armed conflict, it is often more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier.4 Complexities arising from the changing nature of violent conflict have blurred the lines between traditional battlefields and combatants and civilian spaces and populations. The constant threat of terrorism and violent extremism best exemplifies this phenomenon, although it exists in other forms, especially in intrastate conflict. The proliferation of cross border movement in arms and narcotics, terrorism and violent extremism have fuelled national and regional conflicts with an intangible, often faceless yet violent corps of belligerents that target civilians, particularly women and children. In circumstances of weakened state security and response mechanisms, conflict is debilitating for all, but especially affects women and girls in very specific ways. Identity factors such as age, personal status, religion and ethnicity, socio-economic status compound women’s insecurity, creating multi-layered risks of oppression, discrimination and vulnerability. The undesirable relationship between violence against women and conflict is exacerbated due to increased vulnerability and insecurity of women when compared to men. When aggravated by forced displacement, socio-economic deprivations such as lack of education, health services, nutrition, food insecurity, unequal access to economic opportunities, deprive women of the realisation of their human rights, affecting them at the individual, communal and national level. Conflict in Africa is driven by structural factors including undemocratic governance, competition for power and resources, poverty, economic deterioration, ethnic and religious divisions and social injustices and inequalities. Such drivers can be exacerbated by secondary underlying threats like climate change when countries fail to develop adaptative capacities. In 2002, 55 percent of global conflicts existed in Africa, falling to 24 percent by 2011.5 Despite this, intrastate conflict persists, trapping a number of countries in a vicious cycle of multidimensional challenges with severe consequences for Africa’s citizens, particularly women. By November 2017 the AU 4 United Nations ‘ Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution 2242 (2015) to Improve Implementation of Landmark Text on Women, Peace, Security Agenda’ October 2015, SC/12076 13. Available at https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc12076.doc.htm 5 UNDP ‘Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, Determinants and Consequences’ UNDP 2017, UN NY 16