Women Peace and Security
War, violent conflict, terrorism and violent extremism have differential and devastating consequences for women and girls. In the face of this, women all over the world are leading movements for peace. There is strong evidence suggesting that women’s participation in peace processes contributes to longer, more resilient peace after conflict. Yet, despite this, women remain largely invisible to, and excluded from, peace processes and negotiations.
UN Women works to promote peace by supporting women of all backgrounds and ages to participate in processes to prevent conflict, and build and sustain peace. Our programs:
- Foster women’s peace coalitions and prepare them to engage in peace processes;
- Strengthen justice and security institutions that protect women and girls from violence and discrimination;
- Support public services to ensure they are fully responsive to women’s needs, access to opportunities and engagement in decision-making processes; and
- Ensure women are empowered to influence post-conflict negotiations and actively participate in conflict prevention.
Related Stories
Resources
Gender-inclusive peace processes: Strengthening women’s meaningful participation through constituency building
This report on the proceedings of the global conference “Gender-inclusive peace processes: Strengthening women’s meaningful participation through constituency building” explores current challenges, best practices, and recommendations on how best to leverage the practice of constituency building to further gender-inclusive peace.
COVID-19 and conflict: Advancing women’s meaningful participation in ceasefires and peace processes
This brief addresses the importance of women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation to an effective pandemic response and to peacemaking efforts, and how the women, peace and security agenda can provide a critical framework for inclusive decision-making and sustainable solutions. It also provides preliminary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on women’s participation in ceasefires and peace processes and offers a series of recommendations, including on “building back better”.