This helpdesk report from the Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development programme examines the opportunities for political empowerment that open up for women, girls and LGBTQ+ people during and after conflict, and the challenges that arise alongside them. It looks at how social and political norms shift in and after conflict, and at the new spaces that humanitarian and development work can help create.

The report covers political activism during and after conflict, access to justice, involvement in peace processes and quotas for political participation, and transitional justice. It considers how intersecting oppressions produce different degrees of empowerment for different LGBTQ+ people, so that gains for some do not automatically extend to others.