A Brief on Policy and Practice to Inform National Strategies for Preventing Violent Extremism and Promoting Sustainable Peace.

In February 2017 the Global Solutions Exchange (GSX) meeting on the nexus of security, gender and extremism was held in London bringing members of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) and other women and youth-led organizations engaged in the prevention of violent extremism efforts together with military and security personnel, representatives of governments and multilateral organizations to analyze the impact of security interventions in contributing to and mitigating extremist violence. They also highlighted their own practical experiences in engaging the security sector to prevent and counter violent extremism including through trust building with communities, respect of human rights, and gender sensitivity as well as the provision of training to the police and military. Their experiences, combined with desk research on the state of current policy and practice, and consultations with over 70 women peacebuilders from 30 countries at ICAN’s 2015 and 2016 annual Women, Peace and Security forums inform this report.