Academic Paper: A Gender Sensitive Approach to Empowering Women for Peaceful Communities

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2020

This report presents research findings on gender and violent extremism in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The aim of the research is to examine women’s roles in supporting, countering, and preventing violent extremism and how gender identities and relations may be used to garner support for intolerant social attitudes and groups as well as recruitment to violent extremist groups.

Building a Stronger Evidence Base: The Impact of Gender Identities, Norms and Relations on Violent Extremism (a case study of Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines)

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2020

This report presents novel research findings – possibly the first such robust findings to date – on the relationship between support for misogyny, violence against women, and extremist violence in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Gender Snapshot: COVID-19 in the Philippines

Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Women and girls in the Philippines are facing distinct challenges to their safety and well-being during COVID-19, such as access to healthcare services, gender-based violence and other human rights violations, and economic insecurity.

Conflicting Identities: The Nexus between Masculinities, Femininities and Violent Extremism in Asia

Date: Monday, March 30, 2020

Violent extremism has emerged as one of the leading challenges to the realization of sustainable peace globally. Across South and South-East Asia, violent extremism poses a direct threat to inclusive development by fuelling intolerance, forcibly displacing communities, exacerbating cycles of insecurity and armed conflict, exploiting existing inequalities, and obstructing the enjoyment of human rights and the rule of law. Underpinning this violence are gender stereotypes that are used to radicalize and recruit men and women, as well as girls and boys, to violent extremist groups.

WeEmpowerAsia Bulletin

Date: Thursday, February 13, 2020

This bulletin features stories, events, announcements, publications and resources as well as updates on the implementation of WeEmpowerAsia programme.

Misogyny & Violent Extremism: Implications for Preventing Violent Extremism

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Many analysts see terrorism and violent extremism as a part of a “man’s world”. Mostly men engage in violent acts; men lead groups like Islamic State or the Ku Klux Klan and tend to be the main protagonists of “lone wolf” attacks. As a result, men’s extremist violence is normalised, while women are stereotyped as non-violent. Because of this bias, violent extremism conducive to terrorism has been insufficiently analysed from a gender perspective.

Women on the Outside: The female spouses of men incarcerated for terrorism in the Philippines

Date: Thursday, September 5, 2019

The research found that common problems existed within the families, including psychosocial and socio-economic vulnerabilities, a lack of access to justice, and no gender-sensitive religious or other platforms for support. The research concludes that these issues must be addressed. Minimizing stigma toward the wives of men detained on terror-related charges and supporting them to prevent the radicalization of their children can limit their vulnerability to engaging in violent extremist activity themselves.

Gender Considerations in Preventing Violent Extremism: Perspectives from Women’s Groups and Civil Society in the Philippines

Date: Tuesday, August 6, 2019

[Policy Brief] In early 2019, UN Women in the Philippines convened conversations with a total of 32 male and female community peace advocates from women’s groups and civil society organizations. These leaders, from around the Bangsamoro, provided their perspectives on violent extremism and their recommendations for strengthening gender considerations as a method for preventing violent conflict going forward.