Women, Peace and Security

Greater par­ti­cip­a­tion and se­cur­ity for wo­men, girls and so­ci­ety as a whole

Armed conflicts, forcible displacement and flight from crises have gender-specific impacts and affect all genders in different ways. For example, sexualised and gender-specific violence is predominantly perpetrated against women and girls, but also affect LGBTIQ* people as well as men and boys.

Wo­men as po­ten­tial change agents for sus­tain­able peace:

Infografik

Par­ti­cip­a­tion of wo­men in peace pro­cesses

  • with women's participation
  • without women's participation

If women are actively involved in peace negotiations, the chances are increased by 20% that a peace agreement will last for at least two years. It is also more likely that agreements will be implemented. x

Violence perpetrated against people because of their gender has its basis in the unequal power relations between the sexes as well as in social norms and gender stereotyping.

  • However, women participating equally as change agents contribute positively to creating sustainable peace.
  • The likelihood also increases that agreements reached will be implemented in a long-term and sustainable way.

De­mands of the global agenda

The global agenda "Women, Peace and Security" was launched with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 and now includes nine further follow-up resolutions.x

In addition to protection against gender-specific and sexualised violence in (post-)conflict situations, displacement and fragile contexts, the resolution calls for gender-responsive and transformative crisis prevention, conflict management and peace-building. Peace processes should therefore be inclusive and involve women and girls on an equal footing. 

It is important to note that "women" are not a homogenous, uniform group. Their roles, life realities and interests vary widely. As political actors, they are involved in armed conflicts in many different ways. The concept of intersectionalitymultiple discrimination, e.g. on the basis of sexual orientation or membership of ethnic or religious minorities – also supports the need for a more appropriate approach to a complex reality.

Gender-spe­cific reg­u­la­tions in agree­ments

Gender-spe­cific reg­u­la­tions in agree­ments

In 2018, only 7.7 per cent of 52 agreements contained gender-specific provisions, compared to 39 per cent in 2015. The figures show that the vast majority of the agreements do not explicitly consider gender equality or women's rights. x

Footnotes

  1. Source: UN Women (2015) A Global Study on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (opens in a new window)
  2. Source: Resolution 1325 (opens in a new window)
  3. Source: UN Security Council (2019): Report of the Secretary-General on women peace and security (S/2019/800) (opens in a new window), Para. 15. Zurück zum Inhalt