Welcome to Our Secure Future’s monthly Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Research Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Read on for a selection of articles and reports from November focused on women’s rights and international peace and security matters.
WPS in the US
Policy Brief: The Value and Achievements of the U.S. Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Council on Foreign Relations)
“Since 2000, 115 governments have made formal commitments to increase women’s participation in mitigating and resolving conflict and reducing violence against women and girls. The U.S. government was the first to pass a law to codify its obligations in 2017. Support for the WPS Act has recently been called into question, despite a record of substantial achievement since its passage. Continued implementation of the law aligns with the current administration’s goals of ending wars and reducing violence, and U.S. leadership can galvanize increased international action on this front.”
Rep. Frankel Statement Urging Trump to Release Overdue WPS Report (Office of Congresswoman Lois Frankel)
“In 2017, President Trump signed the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Act into law with broad bipartisan support . . .The law requires the Administration to submit regular reports to Congress detailing how it is carrying out this national-security mandate. This year’s report was due on October 31, and the Administration failed to submit it, leaving it out of compliance with the very law the President himself signed.”
Defense and Security
'No turning back': More and more Ukrainian women join the army to fight Russia (NPR)
“Maryna Mytsiuk spends her free time at a shooting range outside Kyiv . . . She's waiting for a call that, any day, will send her to war . . . She is among a growing number of Ukrainian women joining the military as Russia's full-scale war on the country nears its fourth year, and troops remain in short supply . . . Ukraine's military says more than 70,000 women were serving in the country's armed forces as of January. Oksana Hryhorieva, the military's gender adviser, says though that's only about 8% of the country's total armed forces, the number of women has risen 40% since 2021.”
Economic Empowerment
Investing in Girls Is Investing in Global Security (Council on Foreign Relations)
“Each year, approximately twelve million girls worldwide are married before the age of eighteen—often forced into lives of curtailed education, limited economic opportunity, and heightened vulnerability to violence and poor health outcomes. Ending child, early, and forced marriage is essential to cultivating the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers who can drive inclusive growth and democratic resilience.”
From classrooms to communities: educating, empowering, and elevating Nigeria’s girls and women (World Bank Group)
“Nigerian women and girls face major challenges. Many girls marry early and become mothers as teenagers. There are big gaps between boys and girls in education, with girls less likely to finish school. Gender-based violence is prevalent, and few women work or have access to financial services. Women and girls also earn less and are less productive and profitable in jobs and farming. Improving health, education, skills, and economic opportunities for Nigeria’s adolescent girls and women is crucial for its economic development and growth.”
Empowering Women Enterprises to Lead Circular Economy Transitions in the MICE and Tourism Sectors (UNDP – Pacific Office)
“14 women entrepreneurs from across Fiji have redefined what sustainable business looks like through the Supplier Development Programme (SDP), an initiative that equips small businesses to tap into the growing meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry while reducing waste and promoting circular economy practices. Over six weeks, participants received targeted support in business and trade training, market linkages, financial inclusion and digital access. The programme focused on helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) gain the skills and knowledge to integrate sustainable products and services into supply chains for tourism and events.”
Technology
Women, Peace and Security and Technology Futures: What World Are We Building? (Our Secure Future)
“Technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and future innovations, is reshaping the world, with profound effects on peace and security . . . This white paper is a first step in integrating WPS into technology and security decisions. It explores the links between technology, women's participation and security, and seeks to improve strategic decisions regarding technology norms and policies by examining three critical blind spots in the development of technology and AI through the lens of the WPS framework.”
Gendering Geopolitics: The Gendered Security Impacts of Advanced Technology in Conflict (Podcast: New Lines Institute)
“In this episode of Gendering Geopolitics, New Lines Fellow Riley Sullivan speaks with Dr. Lauren Van Metre, security expert and President of Women in International Security, to discuss the gendered security threats posed by advancing technology. Together, they explore how AI, cyber, social media, and advanced military technology have impacted recent conflicts, what the gendered implications are, and the path forward for ethical use of these technologies.”
Climate
Recommendations for COP30 and Beyond (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“Integrating WPS and gender inclusion principles into climate policy is not a “social add-on” but a key source of resilience, security, economic imperative, and a core enabler of climate security, adaptation, and just transitions. The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) provides a pivotal opportunity to operationalize WPS in the climate conversation. Embedding women’s leadership, finance, and local capacity into climate policy while addressing the risks of ecocide is essential for achieving the Paris Agreement goals and ensuring no one is left behind.”
The climate change Gender Action Plan: What’s at stake at COP30 (UN Women)
“Climate change is not gender neutral. Women and girls bear the brunt of its impacts, which amplify existing inequalities and threaten their livelihoods, health and safety. At this very moment, world leaders at COP30 in Brazil have the opportunity – and the obligation – to combat the climate crisis and gender inequality, at the very same time. That opportunity: the adoption of a new, transformative Gender Action Plan.”
“At COP 30 in Belém, UN Women and the Kaschak Institute are launching the Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard, a new global tool that assesses how far countries are integrating gender equality into their climate policies. The initiative offers the first international framework to evaluate the integration of gender equality into climate action, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the plans that guide each country’s action to deliver on the Paris Agreement.”
General WPS
The relevance and reinvigoration of the Women, Peace and Security agenda (PRIO)
“Since its establishment, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has made considered and important contributions to addressing women’s rights and vulnerabilities in situations of armed conflict. In particular, the elevation of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence has filled gaping policy and legal lacunae and focused global attention on the prevalence and scale of these violations. Nonetheless, the agenda has struggled to prevent and deliver meaningful accountability for such violence . . . This contribution argues for a fundamental rethink of the WPS agenda to reflect the lived and complex realities of women’s lives, inequalities and needs in conflict and post-conflict contexts.”
To Confront Authoritarianism and Militarism, WPS Must Form a Broader Movement for Peace (International Peace Institute)
“As formal spaces for WPS advocacy shrink under the weight of authoritarianism worldwide, advocates must turn to alternative arenas where anti-war activists are mobilizing and strengthen their alliances with them. Doing so offers a crucial opportunity to expand the coalition behind WPS and connect the dots between gendered insecurity, authoritarianism, and climate risks.”
AfP Urges Implementation of the WPS Agenda on the 25th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Alliance for Peacebuilding)
“On the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, the foundation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda, the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP)—a woman-led network of over 250 organizations working in 181 countries to prevent violent conflict and build sustainable peace—calls on the international community and U.S. Government to increase investment in and strengthen commitment to WPS. Successful implementation of the WPS Agenda is vital to addressing the disproportionate and unique effects of conflict on women and girls and supporting their role in preventing, mitigating, and resolving it. At a time of record-breaking violent conflict, the world can no longer afford to marginalize half the population in efforts to build sustainable peace.”
The WPS Agenda Beyond 2025: Time for a WPS Treaty (Women in International Security)
“While reflecting on their successes over the past 25 years, WPS activists will have to pivot and mobilize in 2025 and the years ahead to withstand the gravest crisis the WPS movement has faced. WPS advocates will have to play defense and offense at the same time. The single most important thing they can do is launch a campaign to have a Women, Peace and Security Treaty adopted by UN member-states via the UN General Assembly.”
Reimagining Women, Peace and Security for Today’s Geopolitics (PeaceRep)
“Twenty-five years after the launch of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, it is evident that progress has been made, but remains uneven and increasingly challenged by the persistent and brutal nature of contemporary conflicts . . . In recent years, the world has witnessed the intensification of conflicts and increased human rights violations, with women and children disproportionately bearing the greatest harm. These challenges highlight the need for continued commitment and effective implementation of the WPS framework to ensure meaningful progress toward gender equality and sustainable peace.”
Understanding Takaichi Sanae: Sheila Smith on Japan’s First Female Prime Minister (Council on Foreign Relations)
“Renowned Japan expert Sheila Smith discusses the country’s historic election of its first female prime minister, her politics, her likely policies, and their impact on women...Takaichi has always advocated for Japanese tradition—in her brand of conservative politics and in her cultural and social values...During her run for her party’s leadership and through her negotiations with other parties in Japan, Takaichi focused mainly on Japan’s economy and its defense.”
Women of Ninewa: From Bearing the Burden of Conflict Legacies to Leading in Peace and Security (Nonviolent Peaceforce)
“While formally and constitutionally included in public life, women in Iraq face significant constraints on their political agency. As a result of conflict legacies and systemic discrimination, their space to lead and exercise power is often restricted . . . The brief seeks to inform policymakers, practitioners, and donors about the steps needed to strengthen women’s role in peace and security, and to ensure that national commitments under the WPS Agenda translate into tangible outcomes on the ground.”
LGBTIQ Inclusion in National Action Plans on the United Nations Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (Outright International)
“National Action Plans (NAPs) on the United Nations Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda are increasingly recognizing the importance of addressing the unique vulnerabilities and contributions of LGBTIQ people of all genders . . . The following 22 country profiles highlight how nations have addressed these issues in their WPS NAPs . . . These profiles provide an in-depth look at how LGBTIQ inclusion in NAPs are shaping the WPS agenda, serving as a valuable resource for governments, civil society, and advocacy organizations to learn from existing examples and identify good practices to strengthen future National Action Plans.”
WPS without a National Action Plan: Local Feminist Practices of Women, Peace, and Security in Turkey (PRIF Blog)
“Several local initiatives in Turkey embody WPS principles, illustrating the creative ways feminist actors navigate constrained political environments. Among these, the Saturday Mothers, Peace Mothers, and Diyarbakır Mothers stand out as emblematic examples of women’s peace activism. Each of these movements engage in participatory, protective, and preventive practices, despite limited awareness of WPS terminology.”
Italian parliament unanimously votes to make femicide a crime (BBC)
“Deputies in the Italian parliament have voted unanimously to introduce the crime of femicide – the murder of a woman, motivated by gender – as a distinct law to be punished with a life sentence. In a symbolic move, the bill was approved on the day dedicated to the elimination of violence against women worldwide.”
Upcoming and Past Notable Events
November 6, 2025 – Across Divides: Women Building Peace on the Ground (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) will host a virtual conversation spotlighting women-led grassroots peace movements working across the Israeli-Palestinian divide at a critical moment . . . This conversation will bring together leading women peacebuilders to assess whether the current moment represents a genuine peace opportunity, discuss what is needed to make it work on the ground, and explore how the international community can support women’s participation to ensure any potential process is inclusive, just, and enduring.”
November 10-11, 2025 – Reykjavík Global Forum (Reykjavík Global)
“The Reykjavík Global Forum brings together influential women and their allies from across the world. They share ideas, spark solutions, and drive progress toward equality & increased women’s representation in leadership . . . Watch the 2025 Forum Main Stage Sessions, with panels including Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scotland (2014-2023), Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister, Iceland (2017-2024), Dalia Grybauskaitė, President, Lithuania (2009-2019) & Mari Kiviniemi, Prime Minister, Finland (2010-2011).”
November 19, 2025 – Women, Peace, and Security: A Bipartisan Conversation with Representatives Lois Frankel and Jen Kiggans (Council on Foreign Relations)
“Representatives Lois Frankel (D) and Jen Kiggans (R), cochairs of the bipartisan congressional Women, Peace, and Security Caucus discuss the role of women in advancing democracy and stability worldwide.”
December 2, 2025 – Confronting Modern Day Slavery: A Blueprint for Renewed Action (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“Join the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security at this high-level summit to mark the 25th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and the Palermo Protocol . . . This summit will bring together some of the leading anti-trafficking actors from government, civil society, law, academia, and advocacy. Participants will reflect on lessons from more than two decades of anti-trafficking work, and identify new paths forward that take into account the evolving nature of trafficking in the 21st century.”
December 16, 2025 – Women, Peace and Security 25th Anniversary Reception on Capitol Hill (Our Secure Future and the Congressional WPS Caucus)
Our Secure Future is hosting a reception held in conjunction with the bipartisan Congressional Women, Peace and Security Caucus and its Co-Chairs, Representative Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA), to commemorate 25 years of the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the eighth anniversary of the US Women, Peace and Security Act.