The Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS) sheds light on the relationship between peacebuilding and gender. Their paper provides an overview of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and looks into the role of gender and gender-sensitivity vis-á-vis peacebuilding. Moreover, it discusses CSPPS’s own engagement in the Gender and Peacebuilding Nexus and gives a number of concrete examples.

In order to include women into peacebuilding efforts, it is important to acknowledge their experiences and needs – which often differ from those of men. While men’s military involvement in conflict exposes them directly to physical violence, conflict-related sexual violence and economic hardships disproportionally affect women:

“In many conflict and post-conflict situations, women find no other resort than prostitution to gain economic resources for themselves and their children. Additionally, the financial strain that conflict puts on families, can lead them to force girls and young women into marriage to relieve some economic pressure.”

Apart from that, women’s inclusion matters for another vital reason – their positive contribution to conflict prevention and resolution. It has been shown that more comprehensive and lasting peace agreements are achieved when women are involved in such processes. Often portrayed merely as victims of conflict, women are in fact important agents of social change. The paper discusses these issues in more detail, and offers examples of the work of some of its members related to the Gender and Peacebuilding Nexus.

However, the positive impact of including women in peacebuilding efforts cannot be achieved by simply ‘adding’ women to the negotiation forums. Women must be meaningfully involved, their perspectives, needs, and contributions fully recognised and incorporated.

The briefing paper also features the contributions of some of CSPPS’s members who are driving progress in the Gender and Peacebuilding Nexus.