Podcast Summary

New Books Network

Episode: Peace A. Medie, "Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa" (Oxford UP, 2020)

Host: Lamis Abdelahi
Guest: Peace A. Medie
Date: December 8, 2025

Overview

This episode delves into Peace A. Medie’s book "Global Norms and Local Action", examining how global norms around ending violence against women are translated—or not—into concrete actions in African contexts, focusing on case studies from Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. Medie discusses the practicalities of legal and institutional reform, the lived experiences of survivors, and the intricacies of policy implementation, all while highlighting the crucial roles played by domestic and international actors, especially women’s movements.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Author Background and Motivation

• [02:41] Peace A. Medie introduces herself as an associate professor at the University of Bristol, specializing in gender-based violence and norm implementation.
• [03:30] Her personal connection: having lived through the Liberian civil war, she was motivated by both personal and academic interests to study the subject.

Defining the International Women’s Justice Norm

• [04:47]–[07:29]

  • The “international women’s justice norm” seeks to ensure accountability for gender-based violence and to treat victims with sensitivity, going beyond legal reform to address survivors’ treatment (e.g., avoiding their re-victimization at police stations).
  • Institutions like the UN and regional African organizations promoted these standards.

  Memorable Quote:
  "What this international justice norm was basically saying is that we need to end [re-victimization], we need to hold offenders accountable, but we also need to treat victims better." — Peace Medie [06:54]

Implementation: Three Stages and Their Influences

• [07:29]–[11:28]

  • Medie identifies three stages for implementing specialized units:
    1. Creation – Initial establishment (on paper or via announcement).
    2. Institutionalization – Making units a core, formal part of the police apparatus.
    3. Street-level Implementation – How these changes affect actual policing and survivors' experiences.

• [11:46]–[13:30]

  • International actors (like the UN) are most influential during the creation stage.
  • Domestic actors and pressure (especially women’s movements) become crucial for deep institutional change and effective implementation.

  Memorable Quote:
  "International actors matter most at the creation stage... When it came to institutionalization, domestic actors, specifically the women's movement... were extremely important." — Peace Medie [16:07]

Case Selection and Research Approach

• [17:09]–[19:47]

  • Liberia shows the most extensive development of specialized units; Cote d'Ivoire much less so.
  • Medie conducted over 300 interviews with police officers, survivors, activists, officials, and more.

  Memorable Quote:
  "What it allowed me to do was to compare two countries, one that seemed to have made great progress in establishing a specialized police unit and one that had not." — Peace Medie [19:47]

Country Findings: Liberia

• [23:14]–[29:54]

  • Pre-war: Little state response to violence against women; cases were rarely reported.
  • Civil war: Gender-based violence (GBV) surged.
  • Post-conflict: Anticipated decrease in violence didn’t materialize, prompting significant women-led protests which compelled government action.
  • Women's movement became highly influential, gaining visibility and the ability to speak directly to presidents and the UN.
  • Institutional responses developed, but often remained under-resourced.

  Notable Quote:
  "One of the marches where the women marched to the office of the president and one of them delivered a speech talking about how the war had ended, but there was still so much rape and victimization of children." — Peace Medie [26:26]

Country Findings: Cote d’Ivoire

• [29:54]–[35:56]
  • Prevalence of violence less than Liberia, but hard to measure with accuracy.
  • Women's organizations wary of political backlash restricted activism to service delivery over direct government lobbying.
  • UN lacked same access/credibility as in Liberia due to stronger postwar Ivoirian institutions and a politicized civil society, sometimes facing suspicion from domestic actors.

Institutionalization of Specialized Units

• [37:47]–[44:57]
  • Liberia: Fast, comprehensive rollout of specialized units, significant training, attitudes shift among police—though still resource-constrained.
  • Cote d’Ivoire: Slower and patchier implementation, officials often multi-tasked, and training less formalized, undermining focus and effectiveness.

Street-Level Implementation: Survivors’ Experiences

• [45:12]–[50:23]

  • Both countries showed improvements in handling cases, more dignified treatment; especially in Liberia, cases more likely to be forwarded to prosecutors.
  • Persistent issues: Some police still asked inappropriate or blaming questions, and in Cote d’Ivoire, survivors could be made to confront their accused in traumatic ways.
  • Survivors’ testimonies highlighted the importance of supportive NGOs and ongoing police training.

  Notable Survivor Quote:
  "Nobody knows my name anymore. I'm now the girl who was raped... I just want to leave this place, but I have no money and I have nowhere to go." — Survivor quoted by Peace Medie [57:09]

Policy Implications

• [50:46]–[59:02]

  • Specialized policing matters: Greater accountability and access to justice are possible, even with limited resources.
  • Domestic ownership is key: Reliance on international funding or initiative leads to fragility; sustainability hinges on state and societal buy-in.
  • Women’s movements drive real change: They sustain pressure for improvement at all levels, not just implement top-down norms.
  • Needs go beyond policing: Survivors require holistic support, health services, and societal reintegration, not just prosecution of perpetrators.

  Memorable Quote:
  "Specialized policing makes a difference. And with sufficient training, monitoring and resources, they can actually greatly improve survivors' experiences of the criminal justice system." — Peace Medie [50:54]
  "Women's movements are extremely important actors... they are also shaping the norm." — Peace Medie [54:54]

  • Medie challenges the idea that African survivors prefer traditional justice:
    "Not a single person I spoke with said, I want my family to deal with this or I want my chief to deal with this. Every single person whose family had intervened, that person was dissatisfied." — Peace Medie [58:52]

Broader Relevance & Ongoing Research

• [60:27]–[62:06]
  • Implications extend to international relations, comparative politics, gender studies, policing, and African studies.
  • Medie’s new research focuses on women traditional leaders in Africa and their roles in addressing GBV and working with state institutions.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------| | 06:54 | Peace Medie | "What this international justice norm was basically saying is that we need to end [re-victimization], we need to hold offenders accountable, but we also need to treat victims better."| | 16:07 | Peace Medie | "International actors matter most at the creation stage... When it came to institutionalization, domestic actors, specifically the women's movement... were extremely important."| | 19:47 | Peace Medie | "What it allowed me to do was to compare two countries, one that seemed to have made great progress in establishing a specialized police unit and one that had not."| | 26:26 | Peace Medie | "One of the marches where the women marched to the office of the president and one of them delivered a speech talking about how the war had ended, but there was still so much rape and victimization of children."| | 50:54 | Peace Medie | "Specialized policing makes a difference. And with sufficient training, monitoring and resources, they can actually greatly improve survivors' experiences of the criminal justice system."| | 54:54 | Peace Medie | "Women's movements are extremely important actors... they are also shaping the norm."| | 58:52 | Peace Medie | "Not a single person I spoke with said, I want my family to deal with this or I want my chief to deal with this. Every single person whose family had intervened, that person was dissatisfied."| | 57:09 | Survivor (via Peace Medie) | "Nobody knows my name anymore. I'm now the girl who was raped... I just want to leave this place, but I have no money and I have nowhere to go."|

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:41] — Author introduction and background
• [04:47] — Defining the international women’s justice norm
• [07:29]–[11:28] — Norm implementation: stages and influences
• [16:07] — Importance of domestic vs. international actors
• [17:09] — Liberia vs. Cote d’Ivoire: research design
• [23:14] — Trends and responses to violence in Liberia
• [29:54] — Cote d’Ivoire’s distinct context and challenges
• [37:47] — Institutionalization: how units differ by country
• [45:12] — Survivors’ experiences and street-level realities
• [50:46] — Policy implications and lessons
• [60:27] — Broader relevance and Medie’s future research

Takeaways & Relevance

Peace Medie’s work provides both rich empirical data and a nuanced theoretical framework for understanding how international norms on women’s rights are adapted (or resisted) in African contexts. She spotlights the tension between formal institutional reform and the realities of street-level implementation, showing how local women’s organizations are often the linchpin for real progress. Her findings underscore the need for holistic, survivor-centered responses and advocate for domestic ownership to sustain reforms beyond international funding cycles.

Recommended for scholars of gender, international relations, comparative politics, African studies, and anyone interested in effective norm implementation and social change.