Professor Victor Grech, an Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Malta, has recently returned from London after participating in a workshop entitled ‘Gender, Conflict and Terrorism.’ Prof. Grech’s presentation was entitled ‘Terrorism and the gender ratio at birth’ and summarises some aspects of this researcher’s current focus.
The event was organised by Dr Paul Gill, a senior lecturer at University College London’s Security and Crime Science Department, and was held at Woburn House in Tavistock Square (29-31 March). The workshop was initiated by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the purpose is to synthesise the knowledge in relation to how gender plays a potential role with regards to motivation, operational conduct, exploitation, impacts and responses. Whilst many of the invitees were fully engaged in terrorism studies, the workshop also reached out to experts from analogous fields of research (e.g. organised crime, social movements, criminal offending). It also aimed to incorporate non-traditional insights. By inviting such a diverse pool of talent, the workshop hoped to open up a conceptual debate and exploration in the area whilst also identifying potential avenues for future collaborative research amongst the participant community.
The outputs of this research will shape the future research requirements of DSTL. DSTL are currently developing their 'Adversary Futures’ Theme which will fund a suite of projects over the next three years.