Resiliency Approaches Through Women, Peace and Security (WPS)

  • Published
  • By JSOU

The role of women in both resilience and resistance is a neglected area of study that is rich in potential for transforming understanding of the human role in SRR. The UN’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiative focuses on including the role of gender in conflict prevention, management, and resolution, and specifically emphasizes the value of women’s contributions to conflict transformation. WPS has neglected the role women can and do play in resistance and resilience, however, with Ukraine offering an immediate contemporary example. While women tend to be assumed to play a role in conflict resolution, focusing on that aspect diminishes the role women have played in fostering societal resilience and violent and non-violent resistance movements. Historically, what role have women played in SRR in diverse geographic cases? In what ways, if any, do women play a distinct role from men in SRR? From a resilience perspective, what role have women played across the competition continuum in building resilience? How could SOF include women, peace, and security insights into its planning and operational efforts for SRR?