The Securitisation Dilemma between Covid-19 and Gender-Based Violence in Colombia
Authors
Vigsø, Pernille Nyrup ; Christensen, Louise Smedemark
Term
4. term
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-05-28
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan den colombianske regering under Covid-19-pandemien rammesatte både selve pandemien og kønsbaseret vold (GBV) som sikkerhedstrusler, og hvorfor skalaen for denne rammesætning betyder noget. Med afsæt i Københavnerskolens teori om sekuritisering analyserer specialet præsident Iván Duques og vicepræsident Marta Lucía Ramírez’ offentlige udsagn for at afdække, hvordan Covid-19 og GBV blev konstrueret som eksistentielle trusler, om Covid-19 blev makrosekuritiseret på tværs af samfundets sektorer, og hvordan befolkningen reagerede. Analysen viser, at regeringen fremstillede Covid-19 som en overgribende, eksistentiel trussel og prioriterede den over andre problemer, herunder i periferien økonomien. Samtidig blev GBV italesat som en eksistentiel trussel mod kvinder og brugt til at begrunde ekstraordinære tiltag, men de iværksatte indsatser formåede ikke at begrænse volden, som fortsatte med at stige. I praksis blev tiltag mod GBV underlagt den bredere Covid-19-indsats, hvilket skabte et sekuritiseringsdilemma, hvor bekæmpelsen af virussen overskyggede eller forværrede GBV. Reaktioner fra offentligheden, herunder protester over både GBV og den økonomiske krise, peger på, at sekuritiseringen af GBV og af økonomien ikke var succesfuld. Specialet konkluderer, at skalaer for sekuritisering er centrale redskaber til at prioritere trusler i krisetider og kan legitimere en overordnet makrosekuritisering, som skubber andre presserende problemer i baggrunden.
This thesis examines how the Colombian government framed both the Covid-19 pandemic and gender-based violence (GBV) as security threats, and why the scale of that framing matters. Drawing on the Copenhagen School of securitisation theory, it analyses public statements by President Iván Duque and Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez to trace how Covid-19 and GBV were constructed as existential threats, whether Covid-19 was macrosecuritised across sectors, and how audiences responded. The analysis finds that the government consistently presented Covid-19 as an overarching existential threat and prioritised it over other issues, with the economy also appearing as a trade-off. GBV was likewise labelled an existential threat to women and used to justify extraordinary measures, yet the measures introduced failed to curb its rise. In practice, actions addressing GBV were subordinated to the broader Covid-19 response, creating a securitisation dilemma in which virus control overshadowed or exacerbated GBV. Audience reactions, including protests over GBV and the economic crisis, suggest that the securitisations of GBV and the economy were not successful. The study concludes that scales of securitisation are crucial tools for prioritising threats in crises and can legitimate an overarching macrosecuritisation that sidelines other urgent issues.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
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