A Women’s Guide to Security Sector Reform seeks to encourage and empower women to take part in shaping and transforming the security sector in their communities and countries.
The Women’s Guide provides both information on the security sector and tools for action. It draws on the rich and varied experiences of women in civil society from across the world and shares examples of practical, and sometimes innovative, ways to influence reform from the grassroots.
The Women’s Guide to Security Sector Reform includes three sections:
- Section 1:Understanding Security
Introduces key concepts in security, explaining SSR, and discusses why women’s contributions in civil society are vital to transforming the security sector.
- Section 2:Get Involved
Outlines concrete ways in which women’s organisations can engage and influence reform: how to research security issues, form coalitions, plan strategically, develop recommendations, advocate and engage directly.
- Section 3:Tools for Action
Presents an array of practical activities and tools for women’s organisations to take action, including activities to identify local security needs, sample letters to security officials, talking points for meetings with policymakers and media and definitions of security jargon.
The Women’s Guide to Security Sector Reform can be used by SSR practitioners in any context. Even if they have not formally studied security, women often have essential knowledge of community security needs, and have an important contribution to make to SSR. Involving local women in SSR is crucial to ensuring that reform is grounded in an understanding of the grassroots security needs of men and women in communities.
- Share the Women’s Guide to Security Sector Reform with local women and women's organisations. If you can, translate it into their language. (French, Arabic and Bosnian translations are, or soon will be, available.) Encourage women to get involved in SSR processes.
- Organise a workshop for women's organisations around some or all of the six Get Involved steps outlined in the Guide: how to research security issues, form coalitions, plan strategically, develop recommendations, advocate and engage directly.
- Show the Guide to state officials, and use the arguments in it to advocate for concrete measures to involve women from civil society in SSR.
A Women\'s Guide to SSR.pdf