Meeting summary

Women’s role in improving security in , and

Our Voice, Our‘ صونا قوتنا Summary of discussions and recommendations from the second Strength’ networking meeting held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 3 to 5 March 2014

Introduction Egypt, Libya and Yemen in advocacy, awareness raising and as security sector watchdogs and actors. In March 2014 Saferworld held a three-day Identified roles included advocating with regional conference on women’s roles in policymakers, security providers, the media and improving security in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. local leaders, to influence their perception of The conference was designed to provide women’s place in society and make them adopt participants with an opportunity to exchange gender sensitive approaches to security provision, experiences and to define future roles for as well as exerting pressure for women’s women in the area of safety and security. It representation in all public institutions. brought together interested individuals from Egyptian, Libyan and Yemeni civil society and Women also have an important awareness raising government ministries under the umbrella of the role, in terms of informing women and men about ,Our Voice, Our Strength) network. women’s rights and broader human rights) صوتنا قوتنا introducing these values to children and youth, and promoting acceptance of a wide range of Discussion of women’s roles in professional roles for women, including within the improving security security sector. They can also help identify what their communities and especially women want from Lack of security in Egypt, Libya and Yemen strongly security providers, facilitate dialogue and affects women’s safety and their ability to be active negotiations between security sector actors and in public life. Political violence, rising crime, terrorist communities, and increase buy-in within their attacks, trafficking and weapons smuggling are all communities for national security sector reform major concerns. Women also face specific gender- through their influence among families and friends. based violence. Security issues are exacerbated by Within the security sector itself, women can oversee a lack of effective security provision, and participants and monitor security systems as part of civil society described the security services as unresponsive scrutiny, including with a particular focus on gender- towards women’s security concerns, and sometimes specific concerns. They can contribute to security identified their members as perpetrators of sexual within their communities, for instance through violence. creating shelters for victims of domestic violence. In response to some of these problems, the Participants also noted that women’s groups can conference focused on identifying roles that women provide training for security forces on gender issues, could play at the local and national levels to address diversity, and women rights and women’s advocacy security concerns, in particular those specific to can shift policies in the security sector, including on women. recruiting and training security services in ways to Roles for women ensure recruitment and retention of female staff. Participants also exchanged examples of initiatives In light of these challenges, participants discussed a in their countries that are working to improve range of roles for women in improving security in women’s security. They outlined a women’s grassroots campaign in Yemen to raise people’s Our Voice, Our Strength: Meeting summary Page 2 awareness about sexual harassment and combat women and the security sector; media, gender and political and public denial over the issue, through the security; and women in safer communities. use of an interactive online map enabling people to anonymously report occurrences of harassment and Women and the security sector through advocacy activities aimed at the Ministry of Justice about a law to criminalise sexual Participants identified important roles for women harassment. Other examples included initiatives that both as actors within the security sector and as work with Ministries of Interior and families of victims decision makers shaping the security sector. They to improve standards for women prisoners who are argued that creating space for women in security subject to sexual harassment, and to promote the provision and decision-making could help address increase of women prison officers. negative attitudes towards women in the security sector, abusive policing and lack of responsiveness Obstacles to overcome to gender-based violence. Participants identified a series of obstacles that need Participants emphasised the links between the to be overcome in order to enhance women’s roles security and justice sectors, and identified legislation in improving security. as one of the primary means to push for advances in security provision for women and ensure the Discussions brought up the issue of social respect, promotion and defence of women’s rights expectations that restrain women’s ability to gain by state institutions. In particular, they saw women’s political office, enter security institutions and take roles to lie in: part in public life. Participants explained that women are perceived to have a public role in the sphere of  building support for new laws criminalising social work and hospitals, but their presence in the gender-based violence, making proposals to police force generates strong reactions. In Libya, an parliament and lobbying parliamentarians, as additional factor hindering popular acceptance of well as taking part in legislative bodies; women police is the memory of Muammar Gaddafi’s  pressuring governments through international use of female bodyguards, which results in norms and frameworks, such as CEDAW, stigmatisation for women in the security sector. UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions, to Another obstacle that participants identified comes comply with international standards and from key power brokers within religious institutions, incorporate gender considerations into national ‘informal’ religious and tribal leadership, militias and laws. In the absence of appropriate domestic armies. These powerful actors often oppose legislation, these international agreements can changes to the status quo and maintain influence also serve to raise awareness and highlight over legislative and judiciary bodies. problems and abuses; Participants argued that practical impediments  using strategic litigation to bring cases of further add to a lack of political will, as public violence against women to court and set judicial institutions lack the capacity to collect information precedents, ensure perpetrators are sentenced, and do not have access to some remote regions and new laws protecting women are applied. where women are unsafe yet difficult to reach out to. Participants also highlighted women’s role in Discussions highlighted that addressing these changing attitudes towards women and challenging obstacles requires working with allies that can public opinion, as well as enhancing security support the realisation of women’s roles in improving providers’ understanding of women’s security security, such as: civil society organisations, the concerns and appropriate ways to address them: human rights sector and independent media; victims  addressing societies’ prejudices against women of abuse, who must be supported and encouraged in security provision through trainings, to join efforts to promote better security and safety workshops and educational activities, as well as for women; international human rights monitors, by supporting female role models who are international NGOs, and think tanks; and individual active in the security sector; networks, including within families and personal and professional circles.  collecting information about women’s security concerns, the positive impact of women’s participation in decision-making on security Breakout group outcomes policy and their active inclusion in security provision. This evidence base can strengthen To deepen discussions about women’s roles in women’s advocacy messages and help build improving security and move towards practical broader societal support. An important element recommendations, subsequent discussions were of data collection concerns violations and broken up into three breakout groups focusing on: abuses by the security forces themselves; Our Voice, Our Strength: Meeting summary Page 3

 providing training to police forces and advice on Women in safer communities the reorganisation of police stations in order to Participants highlighted that insecurity is provide better services for women who are experienced at a local level and that government victims of crime and to improve the working institutions focus too much on a top-down ‘national conditions of women police officers. security’ paradigm. Working on the local level is Media, gender and security therefore an essential part of women’s role in improving security. Participants discussed the role of the media in Using their knowledge and understanding of their promoting both positive and negative images of own local areas and communities, participants women. Too often, participants argued, the media identified potential roles for women in improving reinforces disempowering gender stereotypes in local security and safety: television programmes and spreads messages against women’s participation in political life. Attacks  monitoring security concerns that affect their against female public figures often take the form of day-to-day lives, women can try to shape rumours and slander, diffused through social priorities for local law enforcement to make sure networks and word of mouth, but also in media real human-security concerns are taken into outlets in search of sensational headlines. Engaging account and threats relevant to citizens’ daily with the media is therefore essential to improving lives are identified. Participants saw this in women’s security and countering negative images opposition to centrally driven national security about women’s roles in society. and counterterrorism agendas, which miss local concerns or even increase insecurity locally; Discussions highlighted the importance for women to engage directly with media professionals in order  evaluating the quality, impact and relevance of to influence their perceptions and enhance their government security service provision within professional standards and their awareness of the communities through monitoring. Women have impact of media discourse. Participants also a particular role in scrutinising security provision identified an active role for women to challenge the for women and girls as there is little focus on media with alternative messages: the quality and gendered impact of (poor) government services. Monitoring can be carried  providing training to media personnel to raise out by individual groups at a local level and their awareness of women’s rights, violence aggregated by coalitions at the national level to against women, and the threats they face; increase their advocacy reach.  engaging more systematically with media Participants also highlighted women’s role in professionals to share success stories and working directly with vulnerable women in their positive images of women. This also requires communities, for instance: women activists to have a better understanding of how to address the media and pitch stories;  raising awareness among women in urban and rural areas about their rights and including them  establishing independent media outlets, using in discussions concerning their own security. online platforms and social media, and Reaching out in this way, especially to poorly producing videos and interviews. Social educated women and those from rural areas, marketing and other new media tools were can ensure their perspectives are present in mentioned as a way to advertise alternative political discussions; messages about women and present the public with more positive images.  providing psychological and legal support and protection to survivors of gender-based However, discussions also highlighted the violence through creating and working to importance of bearing in mind that new media does improve social services such as shelters and not reach out to all sectors of the population, and support centres within communities. that other means of communication such as the radio as well as non-broadcast communication and Discussions also emphasised women’s role and artistic expression through murals, theatre, and capacity to influence local power holders, both other media are often more effective to reach formal and informal. In particular, participants saw a people who do not have IT skills or live in rural and role for local level organisations: remote areas. Moreover, participants also  raising the awareness of important local discussed the fact that education and combatting stakeholders, in particular community leaders, illiteracy was an important prerequisite for more on the dangers that women face and working grassroots engagement with the media. Similarly, with them to address these issues regulatory frameworks and laws on defamation and appropriately. Participants believed that working slander need to provide the right context for women with local authorities was an important way to to take action on these issues. Our Voice, Our Strength: Meeting summary Page 4

influence attitudes towards women and improve  Build partnerships between women civil security and justice services for them; society groups and the media in order to inform journalists with concrete examples  establishing partnerships between women’s and bring attention to cases of violations, rights organisations and local security change negative prejudices against civil providers. Several participants discussed society organisations and promote a positive examples of sometimes difficult relationship- image of their work. building processes that has allowed them in the medium term to build on shared interests with Building local support centres for the police to address concerns such as human women and providing access to services trafficking, child marriage and violence against women, with civil society playing an active role  Create local women’s centres, building on including in training police and reporting cases existing support structures, with a broad of concern. At the local level, this can make mandate to support women economically, security provision more responsive to people’s socially and legally; – including women’s – actual security needs.  Ensure centres are routinely visited by lawyers who can provide legal advice to Project ideas women survivors of violence and inform them on their rights, and by psychologists to In the final sessions of the conference, participants support survivors and accompany them built on discussions of the preceding days to through their recovery; develop concrete activities and project ideas,  Work in partnership with other local identifying steps towards and activities surrounding organisations providing services that can three roles prioritised from breakout group support survivors in their recovery, access discussions. The following provides a short overview to justice, educational and capacity building. of the main activities proposed in each project. Reinforcing and developing new laws for Feedback and next steps women’s safety and security Participants felt that the meeting provided a valuable  Develop civil-society-led draft laws to opportunity for continued networking, and a chance criminalise sexual harassment; to learn lessons and exchange experiences. They (Our Voice, Our Strength) صوتنا قوتنا  Provide workshops for the police and felt that the parliamentarians, and collaborate with network has enabled them to build relationships with Ministry of Justice personnel on the organisations working on related issues and to proposed law and the reasoning behind it; exchange information between different regions within their countries as well as across the three  Form a monitoring body composed of countries. Participants expressed the intention to individuals and civil society organisations to use the relationships they have formed through the assess the legal context for sexual network in their future work. harassment in each country, taking a comparative approach across MENA; For future work, participants expressed interest in learning further from outside expertise, such as that  Link advocacy efforts with supportive media of high-level analysts and practitioners, as well as professionals, and target decision-makers in gaining more specific information on international advocacy outreach. legal frameworks as a tool to influence policymaking Increasing women’s role in training and monitor security provision and implementation media personnel of changes.

 Train media personnel to include women’s perspectives in their work and change the language used by the media when reporting on women through enhancing their capacity This conference formed part of Saferworld’s project to disseminate this learning within their ‘Strengthening women’s public voice in Egypt, Libya organisations and the professional sector; and Yemen’, which was funded by the Arab Partnership Participation Fund from the British  Provide information to media personnel on Foreign and Commonwealth Office. international standards and treaties as well as national legislation and constitutional provisions protecting women’s rights; Our Voice, Our Strength: Meeting summary Page 5

(Our Voice, Our Strength) صوتنا قوتنا About network Security and justice are difficult areas for civil society to engage on and are often perceived to be ‘male’ issues. However, this network is based on the belief that women’s contributions to these issues are critical. It brings together women’s organisations that are engaging on security and justice and encourages them to form coalitions with other similar national and regional initiatives, to exchange experiences and benefit from successes and failures in other transitional contexts. About Saferworld Saferworld is an independent international organisation working to prevent violent conflict and build safer lives. With programmes in nearly 20 countries and territories across , and , we work with people affected by conflict to improve their safety and sense of security, and conduct wider research and analysis. We use this evidence and learning to improve local, national and international policies and practices that can help build lasting peace. We believe that everyone should be able to lead peaceful, fulfilling lives, free from insecurity and violent conflict.

Saferworld – 28 Charles Square, N1 6HT, UK Registered Charity no 1043843 Company limited by guarantee no 3015948 Tel: +44 (0)20 7324 4646 | Fax: +44 (0)20 7324 4647 Web: www.saferworld.org.uk