While improved security and military presence may improve access to services for women (such as schools, health providers, etc.), Rape carried out by soldiers/insurgents/private military troops and military-fuelled prostitution are the most blatant examples of the negative impact of military-embedded organizations on gender. The likelihood of progressive gender change is thus mediated by CoSOs in complex, multifaceted ways, depending on identity, framework of action and political opportunity structure as well as context.