The dissertation is devoted to the disclosure of the features of the general
theoretical and constitutional-legal principles of ensuring gender equality in the
security and defense sector in the context of the implementation of international legal
standards in the legislation of Ukraine. The doctrinal sources on issues of gender
equality, the methodological basis of research, the concept, meaning and causes of
gender inequality, regulatory and legal regulation and ensuring gender equality in the
security and defense sector in Ukraine and some foreign countries through the prism of
standards regulated by the following international organizations are analyzed: United
Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe. This made it possible
to systematize approaches to defining such concepts as "gender", "sex", "equality",
"freedom", "gender equality", "gender attitudes", "gender stereotypes", "international
legal standards", "policy to ensure gender equality", "security and defense sector",
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"implementation", "gender-legal expertise" etc., to significantly modernize the
conceptual and categorical research apparatus.
Along with the traditional methodological toolkit, which includes philosophical,
general scientific and special legal methods (generalization, analysis, synthesis,
induction, deduction, historical, systemic, dialectical, anthropological, axiological,
epistemological, hermeneutic, structural-functional, comparative-legal, formal-legal,
synergistic, statistical, legal semiotics, legal modeling and forecasting, programming,
etc.), attention is paid to the feminist method – it is used in the study of gender-related
issues; strategizing method – thanks to which numerous existing legal acts of a
strategic nature were analyzed (The State Security Strategy 2022; National Security
Strategy of Ukraine "Human Security - Country Security" 2020; Strategy of Ukraine's
foreign policy activity in 2021; Human Development Strategy 2021; State strategy for
ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men for the period up to 2030;
National strategy in the field of human rights 2021; Gender Equality Strategy of the
Council of Europe for 2018-2023, Gender Equality Strategy of the Council of Europe
for 2024-2029); methodological principles of interdisciplinarity, objectivity,
complexity, pluralism, systematicity, comprehensiveness, determinism, etc. Their use
made it possible to formulate general provisions, conclusions and proposals on the
issues of ensuring gender equality in the field of security and defense, implementation
of gender policy, implementation of international legal standards in this area.
The evolutionary and pluralistic nature of the phenomenon of gender equality is
substantiated, which allows it to be considered as: 1) one of the universal human and
civilizational values; 2) the principle, marked by inter-branch and interdisciplinary
significance, belongs to the system of principles of legal regulation of international and
national scales, organization and functioning of public authorities, the security and
defense sector, etc.; 3) the right to gender equality, which can be considered as an
independent human right, regardless of sex (gender), along with the right to nondiscrimination, which is constitutionally enshrined in human rights and freedoms,
predisposing to the emergence of corresponding duties; 4) the foundations of gender
ideology and parity democracy; 5) a complex socio-legal institution that plays an
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important role in the development of civil society and the rule of law, the legal order of
various scales, etc.
A number of author's approaches to understanding and defining gender equality,
namely in the narrow and broad sense, are highlighted. Іn particular, in a narrow sense,
gender equality is a derivative of the fundamental principle of equality, a normatively
established principle at the international and national levels, which consists in the
freedom to choose the possibilities of determining the social role of a person in the
family and society, a fair and impartial attitude to the comprehensive use of human
potential regardless of from gender, that is, the expectations that are placed on her
regarding behavior, duties, character traits, etc.
Significant differences were noted between the legislative understanding of
gender equality and the international legal one, according to which gender is
considered as a social role, without reference to sex and, accordingly, gender and
gender equality are not equated. Thus, the consequence of gender inequality is
discrimination based on gender, as a result of which the rights of both men and women
are violated.
