Policy Brief Series: Women, Peace and Security and the Generation Equality Action Coalitions

The year 2020 was commemorated by key milestones for gender equality. As part of the Generation Equality Forum, UN Women, France, and Mexico launched six Action Coalitions, with the intention to deliver concrete and transformative change towards gender equality over the next five years. In parallel, The Generation Equality Forum will also develop a new Compact for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action. 

To deliver concrete action towards gender equality and human rights, we believe it is critical that the work of the Action Coalitions and the Compact are guided by the priorities of feminist peace activists and women peacebuilders.  As a Catalytic Member of the Generation Equality Compact for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, WILPF is focusing on women’s meaningful participation in peace processes.

Today, we are happy to share six briefs connecting the Action Coalitions and the Compact with women, peace, and security concerns. These are meant to inform and guide the work of the Action Coalitions and the Compact for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action from a feminist peace perspective. 

Drawing on the expertise of civil society activists, WILPF members and local organizational partners around the world, these briefs provide direction for a more holistic, intersectional, human rights-centered approach on gender equality, highlighting concrete recommendations for how action on these issues can advance feminist peace, challenge militarism, and support the human rights of women and girls in conflict-affected countries. Their release parallels our ongoing advocacy work to shape the Action Coalitions and the Compact.

  • Action Coalition 1: Gender-Based Violence

    This policy brief looks at the root causes and drivers of gender-based violence, particularly examining issues including patriarchal systems of power, militarization and armed conflict, and militarized masculinities.

  • Action Coalition 2: Economic Justice and Rights

    This policy brief examines how capitalism and prevailing global models of economic development undermine the human rights of women and girls, including their ability to meaningfully participate in peace and public life, and how these systems also interact with militarism to contribute to armed conflict and instability.

  • Action Coalition 3: Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)

    This policy brief analyses how war and armed conflict limit bodily autonomy and impede diverse individuals, including women and girls in humanitarian settings, from accessing their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

  • Action Coalition 4: Feminist Action for Climate Justice

    This policy brief examines the interlinked impacts of militarism, capitalism, colonialism, and climate change on communities, and looks at the ways in which climate action intersects with the goals of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

  • Action Coalition 5: Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality

    This policy brief looks at the varied impacts of technology and innovation on the rights of women and girls, including elements such as the weaponization of technology as a tool for warfare, online harassment and gender-based violence, and the digital divide.

  • Action Coalition 6: Feminist Movements and Leadership

    This policy brief analyzes how policymakers can better support activism and work for peace and gender equality, including by preventing and responding to violence against human rights defenders, financing the feminist movement, and democratizing decision-making to enable truly meaningful participation.