I think a broader conversation about power is really important. Most sexual abuse is not about the things people think about. It's not about sexual gratification. It is about power. I think people are put in positions of power—inherently, of power over others—which is why I think it's very important to have a much deeper conversation about power. That conversation about power will open up a lot of doors that have remained closed so far.
People haven't really explored ideas about the power between peacekeeping forces and host populations, for example. I think a much deeper conversation is necessary to be able to understand why it happens and to figure out ways to prevent it from happening. Of course, policies of zero tolerance are all very useful, but the point I would like to make is that policy by itself often doesn't transform institutions. There has to be a changing of minds and hearts. As long as peacekeepers are in positions of power over their host populations and as long as there are perceptions of impunity, I don't see how it's going to stop happening.
There isn't much evidence to suggest that increasing the numbers of women in peacekeeping missions actually makes any difference. I haven't looked specifically at peacekeeping operations, but I've looked at other situations of conflict. It's very interesting, because when you look at other armed groups—for example, armed groups that include both women and men—there's really no correlation. There are groups that have large numbers of women, and we still see fairly high levels of sexual exploitation and abuse.
The other thing to keep in mind is there's a theory that often you may not get as much sexual exploitation or abuse if you have more women within certain groups, because then perhaps there is the potential for people to have sexual relations that don't involve coercion. I find that really troubling. That's a very strange situation to put women into, in those contexts.