Executive Summary
UN Women's strategy outlines its contribution to advancing gender equality, peace, and security within counter-terrorism (CT) and preventing violent extremism (PVE) frameworks. It emphasizes integrating gender perspectives into CT/PVE policies and practices, recognizing the disproportionate impact on women and girls. The strategy advocates for women's meaningful participation and leadership in peacebuilding efforts, while cautioning against over-securitized approaches that can undermine human rights and civic space.
Why It Matters
This document is crucial for defense and geopolitical analysts as it outlines a strategic approach to counter-terrorism and violent extremism that integrates gender equality, highlighting how traditional security measures can impact women and girls, and proposing more inclusive and effective prevention strategies.
Key Takeaways
- Counter-terrorism and PVE measures disproportionately affect women and girls, impacting their human rights and gender equality progress.
Source evidence · PDF page 5
UN Women’s engagement in the UN CT framework is critical given the disproportionate impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism measures on women and girls, including adverse effects on the enjoyment of human rights and progress towards gender equality.
- UN Women advocates for integrating gender perspectives and women's rights into CT/PVE policies, emphasizing prevention and peacebuilding approaches.
Source evidence · PDF page 7
UN Women promotes women’s rights in the context of CT and PVE by advancing the implementation of WPS commitments, including in its engagement within the UN CT and PVE agenda based on the following theory of change:
- Over-securitized CT/PVE strategies risk exacerbating grievances, undermining trust in institutions, and restricting civic space, hindering long-term peace.
Source evidence · PDF page 8
Over-securitized, heavy-handed security approaches, and externally imposed CT/PVE responses risk reproducing the grievances they seek to prevent, including distrust in national institutions, repression and exclusion.
Strategic Relevance
This strategy is strategically relevant as it addresses the often-overlooked gender dimensions of counter-terrorism and violent extremism, advocating for inclusive, rights-based approaches that can lead to more sustainable peace and security outcomes. It challenges traditional securitized methods by emphasizing the role of women as political actors and peacebuilders.