Articles & Publications

NATO under the spotlight

ARTICLE
September 3, 2024

SecurityWomen has been asked a series of questions about NATO and here are our responses...

READ Article

Breaking Barriers: The Evolution and Challenges of Italian Women in the Security Sector

ARTICLE
July 25, 2024

The role of women in Italy's security sector has evolved significantly over the past century. Historically, Italian society was deeply rooted in traditional gender roles. The socio-political landscape started changing after the end of World War II as women increasingly entered the workforce and demanded equal rights, which began to challenge and dismantle long standing patriarchal structures.

READ Article

CSW68: Key Lessons from SecurityWomen Engagements toward Advancing Gender Perspectives in Security Sector Transformation

ARTICLE
June 8, 2024

The 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) took place from 11-22 March 2024, with the theme, “accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.” Therefore, the overarching ambition of this year’s CSW68 was to harness the enormous potential of multilateralism, where civil societies form a vital partner with States to redefine global governance.

READ Article

Women in Security – the Czech Republic

ARTICLE
May 15, 2024

The Czech Republic is a small country of 10 million people located in the centre of Europe. Following the fall of communism and the breakup with Slovakia, Czechia became a member of NATO and the EU.

READ Article

Assessing the UK's Commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

ARTICLE
May 7, 2024

A meeting was held on 26th March 2024 in the House of Lords, assessing the UK's Commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda, with emphasis on the progress of the 5th National Action Plan (NAP).

READ Article

Analysis of Gender Equality within the Security Sector in Indonesia

ARTICLE
April 25, 2024

Indonesia's geographical diversity can pose logistical challenges in implementing gender equality initiatives uniformly across regions due to remote and isolated areas that may face additional barriers to promoting gender equality in security sectors due to limited infrastructure and resources.

READ Article

Review of Latest Research in Women, Peace & Security. First Quarter January - March 2024

ARTICLE
April 19, 2024

SecurityWomen reviews the latest quarter of research and new publications related to women in the security sector. Final Quarter 2023.

READ Article

Video by Vanessa Newby, WIIS Netherlands, for SecurityWomen Conference

ARTICLE
November 1, 2023

Vanessa Newby, President of WIIS Netherlands, produced this video for SecurityWomen's Conference October 2023

READ Article

Do women make organisations better?

ARTICLE
November 1, 2023

Here is a clip of the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour programme broadcast on 26th September 2023 which asks the above question and gives the example of policing.

READ Article

The impact of anti-genderism on the Women Peace and Security Agenda in Central and Eastern Europe

ARTICLE
August 26, 2023

Recently Europe has been witnessing the rise of the anti-gender movement, a series of interventions publicly opposing the so-called “gender ideology”. The anti-gender actors successfully managed to mobilise people against issues related to women’s rights, including reproductive services, marriage equality, sex education, gender studies and gender mainstreaming (Grzebalska et al., 2017). What started as an isolated incident in countries such as France, Croatia, Hungary or Poland, quickly transcended borders and became a transnational movement (Kuhar and Zobec, 2017), spreading across Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.

READ Article

Service Complaints Ombudsman/person for the UK Armed Forces

ARTICLE
August 23, 2023

The Ombudsman/person is an independent body, in its more recent 2016 incarnation, appointed by the Ministry of Defence, providing impartial oversight of the Service Complaints system for members of the UK Armed Forces. There are similar Ombudspeople in a number of countries.

READ Article

Breaking barriers: A female forensic eye in a male-dominated field

ARTICLE
August 23, 2023

My name is Laura Mitton and I hold the rank of Warrant Officer in the South African Police Service. I am currently employed as a Forensic Analyst specialising in Forensic Ballistics and I work at the Forensic Science Laboratory located in Cape Town, South Africa. This has been my story thus far.

READ Article

Increasing Security Using Women’s Police Stations: Argentine and Brazilian Case Studies

ARTICLE
August 21, 2023

As an advocacy organisation, SecurityWomen promotes the increased representation of women in police, military, and peacekeeping forces ­– with the goal of changing the culture of these institutions and structures to improve overall security. Both Argentina and Brazil’s implementation of women’s police stations, where policing is only by women and where only victims of male violence are received, provide interesting case studies to show exactly how society can benefit from a new policing culture...one that is not hyper-masculinised.

READ Article

FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY AND WOMEN IN SECURITY

ARTICLE
August 19, 2023

Almost ten years ago, Sweden made history by becoming the first country to adopt an official ‘Feminist Foreign Policy’ (FFP), appearing to take a powerful stance on issues of gender equality around the world. Since this time, while Sweden has abandoned their FFP due to internal political changes, thirteen other states have followed in their footsteps by announcing their intentions to adopt a FFP.

READ Article

What is the way forward for the Metropolitan Police Service?

ARTICLE
June 30, 2023

SecurityWomen advocates for the safe inclusion of women in the security sector, and recent reviews of the Metropolitan Police have demonstrated the need for better standards within policing. Our first article begins a series by SecurityWomen that will outline the problems raised by recent reports and follow the ongoing reviews into police vetting practices, code of ethics consultations, and the future direction of the Met Police.

READ Article

Review of Latest Research in Women, Peace & Security. Second Quarter 2023, April - June

ARTICLE
June 30, 2023

Security Women reviews the latest published research on women in the security sector. Second Quarter 2023.

READ Article

Subverting Patriarchal Narratives using Transitional Justice: A South African View

ARTICLE
April 13, 2023

Women are often understood to be particularly vulnerable during conflicts, perceived as the non-combatant, civilian collateral damage that comes with war. This is because rape and other forms of sexual violence targeting women (SGBV) feature heavily in war strategy, with evidence to suggest that soldiers have been encouraged to adopt SGBV by their commanding officers in the Russian army in Ukraine, in the Syrian Armed Forces, and in the Mai-Mai militia in the DRC.

READ Article

The ELSIE Initiative

ARTICLE
April 10, 2023

Launched by Canada in 2017, the ELSIE Initiative aims to increase participation of women in peace operations. The Initiative seeks not only to reach gender parity in uniformed roles, but to move beyond a sole focus on numbers, to one focused on ensuring that women have the opportunity to participate in impactful and wide-reaching roles across the security and peacekeeping sectors.

READ Article

Review of Latest Research in Women, Peace & Security. First Quarter 2023, January - March

ARTICLE
April 5, 2023

Security Women reviews the latest quarter of research and new publications related to women in the security sector. First Quarter 2023.

READ Article

CEDAW applied to the Women Peace and Security Agenda

ARTICLE
March 26, 2023

Entering into force in 1981, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) establishes an international bill of rights for women, while also promoting a continued effort to advance equality for women around the world. The rights contained within the convention focus on securing equality and non-discrimination for women across social, political, economic, and cultural spheres. Despite its separation from the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS), CEDAW has the potential to work in conjunction with WPS to affirm the importance of women’s rights in conflict and their participation in peacekeeping and security.

READ Article

Women in Peace and Security:  A Sri Lankan Perspective

ARTICLE
February 23, 2023

The common narrative concerning women and security is that women are a vulnerable group who often require protection. But in truth a different story unfolds: the story of how women were forced to become strong, independent breadwinners for their families

READ Article

Law Defending Women’s Participation

ARTICLE
February 21, 2023

The laws of a state have often been constructed to exclude women from participation in the running of society, denying their right to vote, their education and ability to serve their country. However, as has recently been demonstrated in the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, the law and legal process can also be utilised to defend women’s rights and stand as a bulwark against those denying women the opportunity to participate in security forces on equal footing with men.

READ Article

Review of Latest Research in Women, Peace & Security. Fourth Quarter 2022, October-December

ARTICLE
February 14, 2023

Security Women reviews the latest quarter of research and new publications related to women in the security sector. Final Quarter 2022.

READ Article

Women Peace and Security and Conflict-related Sexual Violence

ARTICLE
February 11, 2023

With the creation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in 2000, sexual violence was, and has since, repeatedly been identified as a threat to international peace and security, impeding the participation of women in essential peacekeeping, the security sector and decision-making roles.

READ Article

Review of Latest Research in Women, Peace & Security. Third Quarter 2022, July-September

ARTICLE
October 11, 2022

Security Women reviews the latest quarter of research and new publications related to women in the security sector. Third Quarter, July-September 2022.

READ Article

Boots, Berets and… Bras?

ARTICLE
September 25, 2022

Women in the armed forces need better support. Literally.

READ Article

Review of New Research in Women, Peace & Security. Second Quarter 2022, April-June.

ARTICLE
August 5, 2022

Security Women reviews the latest quarter of research and new publications related to women in the security sector. Second Quarter, April-June 2022.

READ Article

Yelling at Snowflakes

ARTICLE
June 1, 2022

Professor Janet McIntosh was the key speaker in the NYU Spring 2022 colloquium where she talked about her current project on “Language Anxieties and Necropolitical Acculturation in the US Military”

READ Article

10 Reasons To Celebrate Women Peacekeepers – World Peacekeeping Day 2022

ARTICLE
June 1, 2022

For World Peacekeeping Day 2022, SecurityWomen celebrates 10 key reasons why women are such valuable assets to UN peacekeeping missions around the world.

READ Article

2022 needs to be the year when UK police rebuild trust with the public

ARTICLE
March 14, 2022

2021 was a watershed year for UK police services in particular the London Met. British policing needs regain the trust of women whose experiences of sexual and domestic abuse have been dismissed or belittled. The way in which key initiatives are implemented in 2022 will be critical for restoring the public’s trust in the police.

READ Article

Prioritizing power over people: the sexual violence epidemic in the US military

ARTICLE
February 6, 2022

This article examines the policy reforms and shortcomings within the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022.

READ Article

The US Needs a Revised Strategy on Women, Peace and Security post Trump

ARTICLE
December 9, 2021

Tracing a Women, Peace and Security (WPS) strategy over the last three United States (US) administrations reveals a complicated web of priorities, dispersed responsibilities and inconclusive outcomes.

READ Article

A Look at Norway’s Approach to Gender-Neutral Conscription

ARTICLE
October 22, 2021

In 2015, Norway became the first NATO member and the first European country to introduce compulsory military service for both men and women. Since then, the percentage of women in the Norwegian armed forces has been steadily rising. In 2020, 33% of people who completed the initial compulsory military service were women. However, only a small percentage goes on to seek a career within the armed forces. Contemporary academic literature points to possible reasons for this, central among these are statistics of sexual harassment and bullying within the forces. This article will take a look at the Norwegian forces’ approach to compulsory military service.

READ Article

Confronting Sexual Harassment and Abuse within SANDF

ARTICLE
October 11, 2021

Ministerial Report Addresses Sexual Harassment and Abuse across South Africa's National Defence Force.

READ Article

Report of the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries

ARTICLE
October 6, 2021

This is the published report of the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries as a means of violating Human Rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self determination

READ Article

Sexual Harassment in the UK Armed Forces

ARTICLE
September 4, 2021

This article analyses the findings from recent parliamentary and governmental reports investigating the prevalence of sexual harassment in the UK Armed Forces.

READ Article

UN Peacekeepers Conference

ARTICLE
June 24, 2021

On 27 May 2021 RUSI, UNA-UK and the UNA Westminster Branch held the annual International Day of the UN Peacekeepers Conference: Enhancing the UK Contribution to Peacekeeping.

READ Article

Putting Women at the Centre for Meaningful Change

ARTICLE
June 17, 2021

A report by the WPS Action Group, part of the UK CSW Alliance, covering the following topics: Women in Peace Talks, Women in Peacekeeping, Women's Leadership and the Arms Trade

READ Article

The Gendered Security of the Refugee Journey

ARTICLE
June 3, 2021

On 12th May 2021, Dr Juliet Colman gave a public lecture as part of the Sanctuary University series at the University of East Anglia, UK.

READ Article

Women in Parliament and Women in Policing: A Comparative Analysis

ARTICLE
February 21, 2021

Can we learn anything from how women's representation in politics is growing and compare to the increase in women's participation in policing around the world?

READ Article

Women in Law Enforcement in the ASEAN Region

ARTICLE
October 17, 2020

In the ASEAN region – consisting of Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia,Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – female policing is comparatively low in contrast to the remaining world states.

READ Article

Vulnerability requires sensitivity and more police women: A personal testimony

ARTICLE
October 16, 2020

Rotherham became the epicentre of a child sexual abuse scandal in 2014. A key element to the national outrage was the lack of police protection for the victims, many of whose statements were ignored at police stations.

READ Article

The Role of Women in Terrorism

ARTICLE
September 17, 2020

The role of women in terrorism has often been overlooked and neglected. This has grown out of the belief that women in terrorism play a back-bench and supportive role in comparison to men.

READ Article

Lack of Diversity in the US National Guard

ARTICLE
August 12, 2020

The United States National Guard, with its federal-state dual mandate, plays a unique role within the United States Military...

READ Article

Challenging the Silos: Synergies between the Sustainable Development Goals and the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

ARTICLE
May 29, 2020

READ Article

Can Women Make a Difference?

ARTICLE
May 19, 2020

In this article, contrasts are made on considerations of gender in the 5-year plans of South Africa's Department of Defence (DOD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS)

READ Article

‘Be a Force for All’ Recruitment Campaign: the questions we should be asking….

ARTICLE
April 8, 2020

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional police services (known as territorial police forces) within one of those jurisdictions. These regional services are complemented by UK-wide agencies, such as the National Crime Agency and the national specialist units of certain territorial police forces, such as the Specialist Operations directorate of the Metropolitan Police.

READ Article

Empathetic Leadership – a Female Super Power

ARTICLE
February 25, 2020

As we enter a new year and decade, let us celebrate women by recognizing a special skill that many women have received informal training in, yet do not receive enough credit for. I am referring to empathy, and it is nothing short of a super power that can transform relationships, teams and organizations.

READ Article

United States Strategy on Women Peace and Security Underestimates Women's Agency

ARTICLE
November 12, 2019

The recent United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security is a promising first step in implementing the world’s first domestic legislation on the global Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Because the Strategy does not go far enough in recognizing women’s agency and participation in security services, we recommend that the departments tasked with implementation of the Strategy pay close attention to: • Recognizing existing women’s advocacy and participation in security and peacebuilding; • Analyzing differences in women’s experiences of conflict and intersecting identities;• Avoiding a narrative that focuses only on women’s victimization; and • Supporting women who are already participating in security services.

READ Article

'Women and Gender Perspectives in the Military' Book Launch at Georgetown University

ARTICLE
November 12, 2019

Dr. Robert Egnell, Dr. Mayesha Alam, and Amb. Melanne Verveer discuss Gender Perspectives and Militarized Masculinities. On 8 November 2019, the Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace, and Security (GIWPS) celebrated the release of the new book ‘Women and Gender Perspectives in the Military’ with a talk by the book’s editors, Dr. Robert Egnell and Dr. Mayesha Alam, moderated by GIWPS Director Ambassador Melanne Verveer.

READ Article

Exclusive Interview with UNSCR 1325 at NATO HQ Celebrating her 19th Birthday

ARTICLE
October 28, 2019

Possibly you have one living with you? A 19-year-old, behaving like an adolescent but expecting to be treated as an adult. Maybe you can remember being 19? Something of a grey area - the excitement of your 18th forgotten and the focus now on turning 20 which slightly mutes the pleasure of turning 19. And so it is, I suspect, for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325). This foundation Resolution who made the headlines by linking the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and their absence from peace-talks as a security concern, is 19 years old on 30 Oct 2019. As always with the birth of a new-born there was excitement and clamour when 1325 was adopted. One can only imagine the scene in the Security Council that day; the cheering would have been deafening, maybe even some tears of joy in the public area – members of UNIFEM (the forerunner to UN Women), NGOs and Civil Society, who had worked tirelessly after the 1995 World Conference on Women hosted in Beijing, had finally got their Resolution. Possibly there was a different atmosphere in the Delegate’s area - bemused looks, scratching of bald heads, fixing of ties, raised eyebrows, general harrumphs and possible mutterings about what the Security Council had just brought into the world.

READ Article

South African Exemplar

ARTICLE
April 5, 2019

April 4, 2019: Major Seitebatso Pearl Block from the South African National Defence Force received the accolade of UN female Peacekeeper of the Year in 2017. She is interviewed by SecurityWomen.

READ Article

The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights is calling for submissions to a report on Gender and Private Military and Security Companies: deadline 28th February 2019

ARTICLE
February 6, 2019

The background to this is that the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination is mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC/33/4) to monitor mercenaries, mercenary related activities, and the activities of private military and security companies (PMSCs).

READ Article

UK Armed Forces Recruitment Challenge

ARTICLE
February 1, 2019

The UK Armed Forces is in the midst of a recruitment crisis – they are experiencing the biggest staffing shortfall in a decade. A National Audit Office report (April 2018) found that there is a staffing deficit of 5.7% (8,200 people), and with recruitment running below target the situation is not likely to resolve itself without immediate action.

READ Article

Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations: Baseline Study

ARTICLE
November 5, 2018

November 5, 2018: The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) recently reported the results of a study commissioned by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) on female police and military peacekeepers. An abstract of the study follows: The proportion of female police and military peacekeepers remains well below UN targets. Research suggests that the main reason behind the small numbers seems to be a variety of challenges and barriers to uniformed women deploying to PKOs. This baseline study compiles and analyses research published to date on the topic.

READ Article

India's Women Police Fighting Sexual Harrassment

ARTICLE
October 23, 2018

October 23, 2018: India has a gruesome record on sex crimes, with nearly 40,000 rapes reported every year. But the real figure is thought to be much higher, with victims wary of how their complaints will be dealt with. All-female police units are shaking up the male-dominated force in conservative northwest India, hitting the streets to combat sex crimes and a pervasive culture of silence around rape.

READ Article

U.S. Army's Largest Command Gets Its First Female Commander

ARTICLE
October 23, 2018

October 23, 2018: The U.S. Army’s largest command has a new leader — and she’s making history. Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson is the first female Commanding General of the U.S. Army Forces Command.

READ Article

“Women, Peace and Security Conference 2018” Conclusion

ARTICLE
October 4, 2018

October 4, 2018: On March 1st, 2018, the 3rd annual “Women, Peace and Security Conference” took place at the Estonian Ministry of Defence. The main topic of the conference introduced and reviewed the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, its impact on women in conflict, the important role women play in resolving conflicts, peace building, as well as the overall work of women peacekeepers in a global and national security framework.

READ Article

U.S. Army Must Revoke Policies Detrimental to Women

ARTICLE
September 3, 2018

September 3, 2018: In a message to members of the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), CEO Lydia C. Watts sets forth current policies creating obstacles to equality for women in the U.S. Armed Services.

READ Article

The Afghan Policewomen Taking on the Taliban

ARTICLE
September 3, 2018

March 17, 2014: The face of the Afghan National Police (ANP) is changing. More and more women are being recruited to take on the fight against insurgents when NATO forces withdraw in December this year. Their brief is to do the jobs that men can't – in the segregated, strictly religious world of Afghanistan, women can be searched only by women. The Taliban has exploited this in a string of attacks in which men have dressed as women to conceal weapons or to gain entry.

READ Article

$1.7 Trillion Global Spending on Military in 2017: Highest since End of Cold War

ARTICLE
June 8, 2018

June 8, 2018: According to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in total, countries around the world spent $ 1.739 billion on arms in 2017. Although there was a marginal increase of 1.1 percent rise in real terms on 2016, the total global spending in 2017 is the highest since the end of the cold war.

READ Article

The Private Security Monitor

ARTICLE
March 1, 2018

The University of Denver, in collaboration with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) has a research project which monitors private security across the world.

READ Article

The Future of Warfighter Conference, November 2017, London

ARTICLE
February 21, 2018

The Future of Warfighter Conference was held by RUSI, Royal United Services Institute on 23 November 2017. The event took place at the Institute`s WhiteHall building. The conference brought together 11 professionals to share their experiences and to debate the future developments of the British Military. This report aims to provide a brief background of speeches and more importantly, to identify the discourse in relation to gender and women`s inclusion in military recruitment.

READ Article

Cyber-security as a career for girls

ARTICLE
September 15, 2017

Lucy Owen, A-level student from Stroud High School, Gloucestershire, UK, talks about Cyber-Security as a career. She is present at the 61st Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2017 (CSW) in New York

READ Article

Mari Skåre, former NATO Secretary General’s Special representative for Women, Peace and Security

ARTICLE
September 11, 2017

Mari Skåre, answers questions on NATO’s implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the Alliance and its missions.

READ Article

From College to Cabinet: Women in US National Security

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

Women in US National SecurityThis report appeared recently on the CNAS (Center for a New American Security) website, written by Katherine Kidder, Amy Schafer, Phillip Carter and Andrew Swick:

READ Article

Metropolitan elite

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

It has been a long journey for women to reach the top of the police service [in the UK], writes Jacqui Smith in Progress

READ Article

The fine line between patronizing and promoting women in defence and security

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

By Virginia Comolli 19 August 2015

READ Article

The gendered dimensions of war

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

It has been commented upon many times how remarkably gender segregated the sociological issue of war is.

READ Article

Women on the Front Line by Vix Anderton

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

n December 2014, the Ministry of Defence published a review into women in close-combat roles, where individuals on the ground are required to close with and kill the enemy.

READ Article

Police brutality? Put more women on patrol

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

In the US, growing fear of and frustration with police might be lessened if the ranks of female officers were increased.

READ Article

Women in the Military: Lessons on Leading and Women’s Expanded Role in Combat

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

Women in the Military: Lessons on Leading and Women’s expanded Role in Combat by Mikaela Romero, WAND Intern Washington, DC

READ Article

Young Women Encouraged to Join National Police of Timor-Leste

ARTICLE
June 28, 2017

A recent survey on gender violence indicates that 38 percent of Timorese women have experienced physical violence by the age of 15.

READ Article

See the latest events

View events