There is no peace without women

Gender-based violence spikes in post-conflict societies, due to the general break down of the rule of law, the availability of small arms, the breakdown of social and family structures and the “normalization” of gender-based violence as an additional element of pre-existing discrimination.

Women’s participation in all levels of society is vitally important for sustainable peace. If more than half the population is excluded from discussions and negotiations, then the solutions and decisions will not work for everyone and peace will not last.

So what’s next?

• Look through the timeline of women in peacebuilding to learn some of what has been accomplished through feminist organising and the women’s movement.

• Listen and tell women’s stories

• Educate and train women to be leaders, community change agents, and peacebuilders. 

What can governments do?

• Adhere to the Gender Principles for Dealing with the Legacy of the Past developed by the Legacy Gender Integration Group.

• Fund women’s groups, organisations and collectives to capture women’s stories and to education and train women through empowerment programmes.

• Embed gender mainstreaming across government departments, including gender budgeting, gender impact assessment, gender responsive public procurement, and gender responsive evaluation.