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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> WUNRN_LISTSERVE-owner@lists.wunrn.com [mailto:WUNRN_LISTSERVE-owner@lists.wunrn.com]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>WUNRN LISTSERVE<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, December 28, 2017 4:03 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> WUNRN ListServe <wunrn_listserve@lists.wunrn.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [WUNRN] The Countering Violent Extremism Agenda Risks Undermining Women Who Need Greater Support<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WUNRN<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.wunrn.com/">http://www.wunrn.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/221-the-countering-violent-extremism-agenda-risks-undermining-women-who-need-greater-support">https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/221-the-countering-violent-extremism-agenda-risks-undermining-women-who-need-greater-support</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#0070C0">THE COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM AGENDA RISKS UNDERMINING WOMEN WHO NEED GREATER SUPPORT<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;color:#0070C0"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#6D6D6D">26 April 2017 by
</span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/221-the-countering-violent-extremism-agenda-risks-undermining-women-who-need-greater-support#author-details"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">Anna
Möller-Loswick</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#6D6D6D">*</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#0070C0"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:21.0pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">Women’s vital role in efforts to prevent and resolve conflict is increasingly recognised. They should
be supported and empowered to challenge violence – by all actors – that threatens their communities. However, there is a risk that their efforts could be undermined by the countering violent extremism (CVE) agenda. It is critical that the women, peace and
security (WPS) agenda is prioritised and implemented in its own right, says this author</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01"">.<span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">In 2015,
</span><a href="http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_res_2242.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">UN Security Council
Resolution (UNSCR) 2242</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">was adopted, which sets out to increase women’s role in CVE and to mainstream gender in the activities of Security Council counter-terror and CVE bodies. The UN Secretary-General’s
</span><a href="http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/70/674" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">Action Plan on Preventing Extremism (PVE)</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">also states that counter-terror and CVE strategies should protect and empower women. Yet attempts to deliver on the
</span><a href="https://saferworld-indepth.squarespace.com/shouldnt-you-be-countering-violent-extremism" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">CVE agenda</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">risk instrumentalising the broader
</span><a href="http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_res_2242.pdf"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">WPS agenda</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">and undermining women’s rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">The CVE/PVE agenda is presented as a ‘softer’ approach than counter-terror efforts, focused on
</span><a href="https://medium.com/euintheus/how-civil-society-in-the-eu-us-is-countering-violent-extremism-1adb6e8079d7#.9pzkojjk3" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">addressing</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">the reasons people may join ‘terrorist’ or ‘violent extremist’ groups. Yet hard security measures by both national and international actors to combat such groups remain
dominant. These include the </span><a href="http://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/ECFR192_-_EUROPES_NEW_COUNTER-TERROR_WARS_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">use of force</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">,
</span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/topic/terrorism-counterterrorism/targeted-killings-and-drones" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">covert killings</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">,
and </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/world/middleeast/military-syria-putin-us-proxy-war.html?_r=0" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">proxy wars</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">carried out via
</span><a href="https://saferworld-indepth.squarespace.com/shouldnt-you-be-countering-violent-extremism" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">partners</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">The violence generated by such responses
</span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/172-the-high-level-review-on-women-peace-and-security-a-tale-of-two-viewpoints" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">undermine</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">s
efforts to build </span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/view-resource/1034-a-new-war-on-terror-or-a-new-search-for-peace-learning-the-lessons-of-afghanistan-somalia-and-yemen" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">sustainable
peace</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">and promote
</span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/172-the-high-level-review-on-women-peace-and-security-a-tale-of-two-viewpoints" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">gender
equality</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">, and have particular impacts on women and girls. Counter-terror agendas have been used to justify heavy-handed crackdowns on civil society, including
</span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/28/egypt-draft-law-bans-independent-civil-society-groups" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">women’s rights activists</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">.
In particular, human rights abuses are being </span><a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/05/kenya-somalis-scapegoated-counter-terror-crackdown/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">committed</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">in the name of counter-terrorism, leaving women and girls particularly vulnerable to increased insecurity and violence. Furthermore, in Somalia, efforts by the
</span><a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=avaGghR2pD0C&pg=PA193&lpg=PA193&dq=US+suspended+aid+to+somalia+2009+women+and+girls&source=bl&ots=kegC1ewB96&sig=PQw_e0406Gdyr-FCLqBLzJPtLQo&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-v539lMnPAhWgF8AKHTHYA9YQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=US%2520suspended%2520aid%2520to%2520somalia%25202009%2520women%2520and%2520girls&f=false" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">United
States</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">to prevent humanitarian aid from being diverted to violent groups have meant that less aid is reaching those in need. This has particularly negative impacts on women and
girls who are already struggling to access available assistance due to security concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">Co-opting women’s rights movements</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">The CVE/PVE agenda also generates specific risks and negative impacts on women’s rights and the WPS agenda.
Conflicts are increasingly viewed through a narrow CVE/PVE lens, with international actors favouring simplistic
</span><a href="https://medium.com/euintheus/how-civil-society-in-the-eu-us-is-countering-violent-extremism-1adb6e8079d7#.hc9hoj2yd" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">counter-radicalisation
measures</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">rather than holistic strategies that prioritise peace, good governance and gender equality. The WPS agenda is increasingly being used as a tool for CVE/PVE purposes, instead
of being seen as a critical agenda in its own right. Specifically, CVE/PVE strategies often have a
</span><a href="http://chrgj.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Women-and-Violent-Extremism-The-US-and-UK-Experiences.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">narrow focus</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">on the role of women in preventing ‘violent extremism’, by for instance expecting women to report if they think anybody in their family or community is being radicalised.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">Women’s rights activists already face violence in many societies as a result of their work on gender inequality,
as seen in </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/world/asia/taliban-targeted-women-kunduz-afghanistan.html?_r=2" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">Afghanistan</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">,
where they have been targeted by the Taliban. Expecting women to play an </span>
<a href="https://www.thegctf.org/Portals/1/Documents/Framework%20Documents/A/GCTF-Good-Practices-on-Women-and-CVE.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">‘intelligence-gathering’
role</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">in their communities can increase risks for them and their families. It can also undermine the work of women’s activists on gender equality by focusing on women’s
</span><a href="http://www.bu.edu/bulawreview/files/2013/08/NI-AOLAIN.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">roles</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">as mothers and sisters, rather than promoting the empowerment of women in the variety of roles they play in society. In addition, with increasing
</span><a href="http://www.usip.org/publications/2016/06/06/supporting-civil-society-combat-violent-extremism-in-pakistan" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">CVE funding</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">available, and strict
</span><a href="http://chrgj.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/locatinggender.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">anti-terror funding rules</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">in place, the CVE agenda risks becoming imposed on women’s rights organisations who struggle to find
</span><a href="https://law.duke.edu/sites/default/files/humanrights/tighteningpursestrings.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">funding</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">for WPS work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">Women’s organisations that do local peacebuilding work increasingly face the dilemma of either refocusing
their work towards CVE or not being able to access funding at all. The instrumentalisation of women and women’s rights organisations is thus a
</span><a href="http://wps.unwomen.org/~/media/files/un%2520women/wps/highlights/unw-global-study-1325-2015.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">real concern</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">and risks undermining human and women’s rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">Failing to support women’s participation in peace efforts</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">This trend also has implications for women’s participation in peace and security efforts at all levels.
UNSCR 2242 calls for women to take a leadership role in developing strategies to ‘counter violent extremism’. Yet women remain overwhelmingly
</span><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2346.12552/full" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">underrepresented</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">in influential security institutions such as the Counter-Terrorism Committee – a subsidiary body of the Security Council – limiting their ability to effectively influence
the formulation of relevant definitions, strategies and approaches. At the local and national levels, women often already bear the brunt of violence by so-called extremist groups and may also feel pressured to take sides for or against certain groups. Any
outside support to women on the basis that they are able to identify signs of radicalisation within their communities therefore needs to recognise the risks and vulnerabilities they face. Despite the challenges, there are women’s organisations that work to
counter violent groups which they view as threats to their communities. In Libya,
</span><a href="https://www.inclusivesecurity.org/2014/12/22/power-libyas-female-arms-dealers/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">The Voice of Libyan Women</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">creates dialogues with those who consider joining violent groups as a way to voice their grievances. Yet these initiatives are driven by the women themselves and are not
imposed on them by external actors with their own military-security agendas. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">CVE strategies risk working on the basis of simplistic assumptions about the different roles that women
and men play in countering or participating in violent movements. As a result, such strategies often reinforce existing gender stereotypes. While men are often profiled as potential
</span><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dianne_Otto2/publication/270396354_Transnational_Homo-Assemblages_Reading_Gender_in_Counter-terrorism_Discourses'/links/54a9e9540cf257a6360d5ad2.pdf?origin=publication_detail" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">‘violent
extremists’</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">women are often viewed as either victims or peacemakers who can help prevent ‘violent extremism’ – for example by persuading their relatives not to join violent groups
– without enough attention being paid to the </span><a href="http://www.globalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WomenCVE-Project-Desc_Feb2015_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">diverse
roles</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">they play in countering, mobilising against, or participating in violent movements. Meanwhile, the roles and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or
intersex (LGBTI) people remain poorly understood. And while the role of </span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/publications/862-masculinities-conflict-and-peacebuilding-perspectives-on-men-through-a-gender-lens" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">gender
norms</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">in driving conflict is increasingly recognised, insufficient attention has been given to their
</span><a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2015/08/19/gender-under-a-black-flag-isil-recruitment/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">interplay</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">with violent movements such as Al Shabaab or ISIS, although there are some
</span><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a0897fed915d622c000245/61578_Women-Extremism-Full-Report.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">exceptions</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">In light of the risks and negative impacts outlined above, it is clear that more work is needed to ensure
that the WPS agenda is prioritised and not instrumentalised.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">Supporting women to promote peace rather than counter terrorism</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">As a first but important step, policy actors need to ensure that their strategies are underpinned and guided
by </span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/publications/1064-forging-jubaland-community-perspectives-on-federalism-governance-and-reconciliation" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">conflict
and gender analysis</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">. This will ensure the identification of all conflict drivers and actors, and enable them to better understand and address the reasons why people
choose to join violent groups, the different roles that women, men and LGBTI people play in conflicts, and the gendered impacts of counter-terror, stabilisation and CVE measures. We also need to better understand the
</span><a href="http://www.globalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/AMansWorld_FULL.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">interplay</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">between patriarchal gender norms and violent movements, and how such norms can be challenged. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">In addition, the WPS agenda should be prioritised and implemented in its own right. In practice, this means
ensuring the political, social and economic empowerment of women and girls as an end in itself rather than a means to serve CVE purposes. It is difficult to end conflicts and build peace without empowering society to pressure
</span><a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/maria-al-abdeh/syria-instumentalising-women-s-rights" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">all conflict actors</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">to improve their behaviour. Under the CVE agenda, the risk is that women are being co-opted into the struggle against particular non-state groups, without being empowered
to challenge national governments and the international community about their roles in violence, abuse and corruption. Instead, women at all levels should be supported to develop and drive their own agendas, and to challenge
<i>all</i> actors who are responsible for violence and inequality. Organisations working to promote gender equality and build peaceful and resilient communities require sufficient funding that is not tied to international and national security agendas. Finally,
</span><a href="https://saferworld-indepth.squarespace.com/shouldnt-you-be-countering-violent-extremism" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">women’s agency and leadership</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">in shaping broader stabilisation strategies and peace processes should be respected and promoted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">It is high time that international actors prioritise efforts to build sustainable peace by addressing structural
drivers of violence and insecurity, including gender inequality. This is not about trying to
</span><a href="https://saferworld-indepth.squarespace.com/shouldnt-you-be-countering-violent-extremism" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">‘ensure that CVE programmes understand
conflict and address their causes’</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">but about investing in existing efforts to build
</span><a href="https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/view-resource/708-issue-paper-2-what-are-the-key-challenges-what-works-in-addressing-thema"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">sustainable
peace</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">and promote
</span><a href="http://www.actionaid.org/sites/files/actionaid/from_the_ground_up_-_full_report.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">gender equality</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">.
The </span><a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">2030 Agenda</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">– the world’s framework for sustainable development – and the
</span><a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/ianwge/taskforces/wps/Strategic_Framework_2011-2020.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">WPS agenda</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">both include strong commitments to conflict prevention, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Turning these frameworks into projects and programmes that deliver tangible
improvements in people’s lives will help create more peaceful, just, and gender-equal societies, and help address the
</span><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a0899d40f0b64974000192/Drivers_of_Radicalisation_Literature_Review.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:#575C91;text-decoration:none">grievances</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">that allow violent groups to grow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">*Anna Möller-Loswick</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">
is Policy Coordinator at Saferworld<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.75pt;line-height:19.5pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Frutiger W01";color:black">________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#203864"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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