Gender justice, political participation and social inclusion are prerequisites for lasting peace. But too little is being done in peace policy to overcome structural violence, economic and social discrimination. Too little attention is being paid to the special situation of women and girls in armed conflicts and war. As a feminist peace organisation, we work together with our project partners and peace activists from all over the world to promote peace and demilitarisation. In doing so, we strive for structural change and towards peace and gender justice. Our work is based on universally accepted human rights standards and follows a holistic feminist approach.
Peace is more than the absence of war. Patriarchal power relations, structural violence and physical or psychological violence against women block the path to lasting peace. This is why we engage in peacebuilding with a feminist, intersectional perspective. And because we have a comprehensive understanding of peace.
Women's rights are human rights. We work to ensure that core human rights standards are respected in conflict-affected regions too. Our work is based on the UN’s "Women, Peace and Security" agenda.
Women's access to peace and conflict transformation processes is severely limited. However, peace processes offer critical windows of opportunity for the recognition of women's rights and for the elimination of discriminatory social structures and gender norms. Women and marginalised groups must therefore play an active role in peace processes.
Gender-based violence is one of the most common human rights violations worldwide. Particularly in conflict-affected contexts, violence against women increases in all its forms. Gender-based violence is a major obstacle to gender justice and lasting peace.
Militarisation means more than "just" spending on armed forces: this spending is the consequence of a security policy geared towards war. As a feminist peace organisation, we oppose the claim that more weapons lead to more security. We demand demilitarisation and disarmament because that is the only way to achieve genuine peace and comprehensive security.
In the fall of 2019, PeaceWomen Across the Globe brought together peace activists from Colombia, Nepal and the Philippines to share their experiences of armed conflict and of the subsequent peace efforts in their countries and to benefit from each other's expertise.