Welcome to Our Secure Future’s monthly Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Every month we curate the latest articles and reports focused on women’s rights, and international peace and security matters. This January, we searched the web for you, and here’s what we found…
Climate Change
Women’s Civil Society Organizations: Key Partners for Gender-Transformative Disaster Response (International Peace Institute)
“As climate disasters intensify, defense and security institutions are increasingly called upon to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) ... The expertise of these institutions in HA/DR, however, does not ensure an operationalization of a gender perspective in crisis settings—an important consideration, given that the impacts of climate disasters are not felt evenly by all populations.”
COP29 in the Rearview Mirror: A Receding Mirage – But the Possibility for Real Action on the Road Ahead (Just Security)
“The latest round of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, the 29th session of the Conference of Parties (COP29), recently wrapped up in Baku, Azerbaijan . . . Looking back, the results of COP29 around the big goals were largely disappointing – but there were still moments in Baku that provide a roadmap for how the climate agenda might be revived at COP30 next year.”
Technology
Cyberviolence Against Women and Girls: The Growing Threat of the Digital Age (United Nations)
“The rapid expansion of the digital realm has brought immense benefits, from connectivity to education and economic opportunities. However, it has also created a fertile ground for gender-based violence to evolve and proliferate. Studies across the world show that 16 to 58 per cent of women and girls have been targeted by violence online. Cyberviolence against women and girls is a pervasive issue, encompassing a wide range of harmful behaviours that exploit the anonymity and reach of digital platforms.”
Promoting Health and Well-Being in the Response to Online Harassment and Abuse (Vital Voices Global Partnership)
“As a global advocate for women’s rights, Vital Voices urges stakeholders to prioritize the protection of individuals, especially women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Together, we can ensure that technological innovation does not come at the expense of human dignity and safety. The time to act is now.”
Gender bias, AI, and deepfakes are promoting misogyny online (London School for Economics Centre for Women, Peace and Security)
“Currently, AI, deepfake pornography, and internet culture exacerbate gender bias and misogyny. However, these challenges also present opportunities to reset our legal protections and normalised culture. By addressing the structural inequities embedded in digital technologies and creating a more inclusive and equitable online environment, society can work toward mitigating these harms.”
Atrocity Prevention
How disasters make violence against women worse – and what we can do about it (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction)
“Disasters raise risks of violence and against women and girls by amplifying pre-existing vulnerabilities in society. Gender-inclusive disaster risk reduction can reduce this risk in multiple ways - by identifying the specific needs of women, by reducing the impacts of disasters more generally, and by empowering women in their communities. The PreventionWeb editors have collected a selection of articles and research findings that show how disasters worsen violence against women, and some ways we can take action to prevent this spiral of violence and inequality.”
Status Quo No More: How the New Administration Can Prevent and Resolve Conflict (Alliance for Peacebuilding)
“Centering peacebuilding and conflict prevention in U.S. foreign policy and assistance is not just the right thing for the incoming Trump Administration to do—it is the smart, strategically sound, and cost-effective thing to do. Every dollar invested in conflict prevention saves $16 that would otherwise be spent on expensive humanitarian or security responses. Peacebuilding’s inherent multisectoral, coordinated, and crosscutting approach results in more informed, evidence-based, and fit-for-purpose interventions that address the underlying drivers of violent conflict, violence, and insecurity.”
General WPS
Revitalizing the Global Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (The Global Governance Forum)
“One of the clearest messages from the 2024/25 Gender Equality and Governance Index Report, newly published by the Global Governance Forum, is that countries at the top of the list—those that prioritize women’s empowerment and gender equality—are the most stable and secure, while those at the bottom tend to be wracked by civil conflict and outright warfare . . . This is a reminder that we must devote renewed energy to those of our global institutions most closely involved with women, peace, and security (WPS). One such effort now underway is the move to reinvigorate the United Nations and member states’ drive to implement U.N. Security Council 1325.”
Conflicts to Watch in 2025: Women, Peace and Security in a More Volatile World (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“This list highlights risks or opportunities for women’s status and safety this year in Afghanistan, Chad and the wider Sahel, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. These insights are drawn from the WPS Conflict Tracker, which monitors and analyzes global armed conflict through a WPS lens.”
Gender Wars Are an Early Warning Sign for Authoritarianism (Foreign Policy)
“Globally, women’s rights are often eroding in both policy and practice, from the struggles of the Iranian and Afghan women who exist under gender apartheid to the Kenyan women experiencing the harsh backlash of the rise of the manosphere. In tandem, there’s been a sharp rise in reports of online harassment and misogyny worldwide. National security analysts explore issues and psychologies through any number of prisms, but Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) remains an underutilized one.”
When Women Lead: How Women Are Shaping Venezuela's Political Struggle (Our Secure Future)
“As Venezuela's political crisis has worsened, women have emerged as powerful voices of resistance. As the nation struggles with economic collapse and declining democratic rights under Nicolas Maduro's regime, women leaders are transforming the landscape of political opposition through a distinct combination of community activism and political resistance. This article discusses how women's leadership is not only influencing the current struggle but also redefining Venezuela's future.”
Women’s Participation in High-Level Mediation Processes (Search for Common Ground)
“Women are largely excluded from peace processes... This issue brief highlights learnings from peacebuilders involved in over 10 peace processes in the past decade around what worked and recommendations, based on a convening of over 40 participants in fall 2024.”
Realizing NATO’s Women, Peace and Security Commitment in Practice (Women In International Security)
“This Policy Brief looks ahead to consider the question of what NATO’s commitment to WPS, as outlined in the Strategic Concept and the revised NATO WPS Policy, would look like if it were realized in practice, specifically through the NATO WPS Action Plan due for renewal in 2025.”
Upcoming and Past Notable Events
December 16-17, 2024 - U.S. Naval War College Hosts 11th Women, Peace and Security Symposium (America’s Navy)
“The symposium, themed “Rethinking Global Security in a Complex World,” aimed to broaden understanding of complex global security challenges and the critical importance of gender perspectives across the continuum of national and international security.”
January 16, 2025 - From Resolution to Revolution: Marking 25 Years of the Women, Peace and Security Framework (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
The Embassy of Japan, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (Sasakawa USA) hosted a high-level event that brought together key stakeholders from a variety of countries that have demonstrated leadership and innovation in advancing the WPS Agenda. As this year marks the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, the discussion highlighted lessons learned and best practices for WPS implementation.
January 28, 2025 - 25 Years of Women, Peace and Security in the Middle East (Wilson Center)
“The year 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which acknowledged the disproportionately adverse effects of conflict on women and girls and called for the meaningful participation of women in negotiations and peacebuilding processes to ensure lasting and inclusive peace. Studies show that including women in structured peace negotiations increases the likelihood of it lasting at least two years by 20% and for 15 years by 35%. Yet, in the Middle East, where women are leading in local communities, they are noticeably absent from the negotiating table. This online panel discussion took stock of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in the Middle East, with a focus on the ongoing conflicts in Israel and Palestine, Yemen, as well as post-conflict settings emerging in Syria.”
February 4-6, 2025 - The Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network Seventh Capital-Level Meeting (WPS Focal Points Network)
Japan and Norway, as the 2025 Co-Chairs, will be hosting together with UN Women the Seventh Capital-Level Meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network on February 4-6, in Tokyo, Japan under the theme "Deepening WPS Commitments for Action: Innovating and adapting to deliver on peace and security.”
March 10-21, 2025 - The sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, (United Nations, New York)
“The main focus of the sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review will include an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Opportunities
Associate Director (Our Secure Future)
“The OSF Associate Director will serve as an integral member of the OSF team and report directly to the Vice President of OSF. This is a key position for the OSF team, with the opportunity to grow. The OSF Associate Director will focus approximately 75% of their time working closely with the Vice President as a thought partner in building the WPS National Action Plan Academy ... In addition, the Associate Director will spend 25% of their time assisting the OSF Vice President in OSF team management responsibilities.”
Project Manager (Our Secure Future)
“OSF is seeking a Project Manager to support its WPS NAP Academy. We require a motivated self-starter who is passionate about peace and equality, able to work well in a small team, and has the savvy to turn obstacles into opportunities. This role is ideal for someone who is equally comfortable taking the lead role on projects, as well as willing to pitch in at all levels. The Project Manager is a new position in the OSF team. The Project Manager for the WPS NAP Academy will provide additional research and support to the broader OSF team as needed.”