Drawing on consultations with over 70 women’s rights and peace practitioners across 15 countries, this report captures women’s voices on their experiences of security interventions designed to prevent or counter violent extremism. It reflects on how to utilize civil society in PCVE activities and to mobilize the inclusion of women as PCVE actors, offering various recommendations. These include: monitoring and recognition of human rights violations and repression as early warning indicator of violent extremism; collaborate and engage with independent and credible CSOs at the local level; support women human rights defenders; operate a ‘do no harm’ policy in PCVE; increase training and capacity building for journalists in PCVE; support existing platforms and networks and enable greater opportunities for regional CSO collaboration. It also discusses policing and aspects of criminal justice, recommending: increased independent monitoring of counterterrorism policing and prosecutions; gender-mainstreaming across policing - not just increased recruitment of women in the security sector; encourage security sector engagement with WBOs, CBOs and CSOs, and to factor in women’s specific security needs and concerns; be consistent in defunding and combatting all forms of violent extremism within communities and at a national level. The briefing also makes recommendations for international interventions, which include: adopt a human rights, including women’s human rights, centric approach to CT and PCVE; make security assistance dependent on greater cooperation with CSOs and WBOs; support social cohesion and be driven by locally determined needs assessments; fund and commit to peacebuilding activities.
2016