Summary of progress towards outcomes: WILPF’s advocacy and achievements in 2017 demonstrate considerable progress towards a global understanding and take-up of the importance of women’s meaningful participation for holistic violence prevention that addresses gendered power.
We showed that a strong foundation for peace is possible when gendered root cause analysis is integrated into peace agreements For example, in Colombia, more than 100 provisions on gender, including on zero tolerance on sexual and gender-based violence were integrated into the peace agreement based on women civil society’s recommendations. In 2017, a highly successful disarmament process included the lay down of over 7,000 arms. Even with these gains, preventing the backward movement of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda remains a constant and critical challenge. Transforming gendered power requires a power shift to re-centre work on equality, development, security and peace around the voices and rights of women and those most marginalised. Every step forward faces two steps back, and independent women’s voices remain more critical than ever.
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