New publication: Implementing the Women, Peace & Security Agenda and Reducing Armed Violence

GAAV has launched a new publication, Implementing the Women, Peace & Security Agenda and Reducing Armed Violence, via its gender and armed violence working group. This paper draws on inputs from nearly 30 contributors from around the world – Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania – including grassroots activists, global level experts, peace negotiators, former MPs, researchers, academics and civil society champions.

The paper makes a case for broadening ways the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda is applied, so to tackle various manifestations of violence – including violent conflict, non-conflict armed violence, intimate partner violence (IPV) and violent extremism – their gender dimensions and weapons use. It is a submission for the high level review of the WPS agenda, and provides guidance for national and local level policy implementation. It draws on normative frameworks to promote cohesive WPS policy linked to agendas for arms control, gun control, disarmament, and armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP).

The paper includes:

• Calls for strengthened national and global data collection practices via mandated institutions and with specific approaches to disaggregation.
• Recent evidence on different forms of violence and violent deaths, gender dimensions, and global weapons circulation.
• Focus on masculinities and the need to account for men and boys in improved gender analysis.
• Calls to apply WPS norms more widely to tackle different forms of violence and in situations not classified as ‘armed conflict.
• Focus on the prevention pillar which looks at different forms of violence (political, criminal to violent extremism), gender dimensions, and ways to strengthen small arms controls, including by harmonising domestic violence laws and gun laws. This area also includes recommendations to harmonise national action plans (NAP) on WPS with implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty.
• Recommendations on the protection of the rights of survivors of armed violence and how these issues should be dealt with in peace agreements.
• Recommendations on holistic approaches to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) based on evidence and trends.
• Attention on Private Military and Security Contractors (PMSCs), accountability and human rights issues, and ways to strengthen national regulatory frameworks.
• A focus on civilian disarmament, demilitarisation and building cultures of peace in post-war recovery efforts.
• Recommendations to connect development and WPS agendas via Sustainable Development Goals and measuring and monitoring systems.

Download a copy. If you are interested to join GAAV’s gender and armed violence working group email gaav_gender@dgroups.com