This ground-breaking study examines the influence of gender constructs on the international regime protecting war-affected civilians. R. Charli Carpenter argues that to understand the way in which laws of war are implemented and promoted in international society we must first understand how gender ideas affect and ultimately undermine the principle

R. Charli Carpenter is Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and a faculty affiliate of the University of Pittsburgh's Ford Institute of Human Security, both in the USA. She has published extensively on gender, children's rights, and humanitarian action, and is the recipient of awards from the National Science Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Professor Carpenter teaches courses on human rights and humanitarian law and is currently directing a research initiative on children and armed conflict.

Preface and Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Gendered Innocence; Chapter 3 Implementing the Civilian Immunity Norm; Chapter 4 Advocating for Civilians; Chapter 5 Protecting Civilians in Conflict Zones; Chapter 6 "Un-Gendering" Civilian Protection, Engendering Change;