Welcome to the GAPS November Wrap-Up

25 November marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

This also marked the beginning of #16DaysofActivism against Gender-Based Violence. GAPS has been amplifying resources and activities from partners globally who, amidst the rollback on rights and shrinking civic space, are building a new world that is just and fair. View GAPS’s tweets here. The FCDO hosted a reception to mark the 16 Days of Activism, hosted by Minister Phillips and Minister Dodds, which GAPS attended. GAPS was also present at the FCDO-hosted event, with Minister Falconer, to view “The Women Who Beat ISIS” travelling photo exhibition by Farida Global Organisation. Read the UK’s statement at the UN Security Council on CRSV here. 

The second reading of the WPS Bill was held in the House of Lords

Baroness Hodgson, co-chair to the APPG-WPS, tabled the Bill and was joined by House of Lords members including, Lord Purvis, Baroness Kennedy and Lord McConnell, to express support for the Bill. The Bill will be revised and presented at a whole-house committee meeting. Read GAPS updates from the debate here.

Syrian military has launched a counter-attack on Idlib city

Syrian opposition groups launched an offensive capturing most of Aleppo and arriving as far south as Hama in a matter of days as government forces retreated. In response, the Syrian military have launched a counter-attack which has reportedly pushed back the opposition groups after they reached Hama’s outskirts. Syrian women and girls continue to report a growing spectrum of GBV, including harassment, intimate partner violence, early and forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and new forms of violence, such as those facilitated by technology. The prolonged conflict, an moments such of heightened violence, such as this, have entrenched and exacerbated such inequalities.

Donald Trump has been elected as President for his second term

Looking to previous decisions made by Trump, such as the suspension of UNRWA in 2018 and re-allocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem, his re-election threatens Palestinian self-determination and promises further annexation of the West Bank.

Nordic Ministers for Gender Equality and LGBTI met on 27 November 2024 in Stockholm

This discussion focused on the growing global push-back against gender equality and equal rights. A joint declaration has been adopted and the ministers intend to collaborate with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to put this into action. Read the summary here.

Israel has continued attacks on Lebanon despite ceasefire agreement

Since the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on November 27, Israel has continued its major attacks on Lebanon, killing at least 13 people.  Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, warned if the truce does collapse, “we will act strongly” and target the state, not just Hezbollah. OHCHR has revealed that around 14,000 pregnant women in Lebanon have been affected by the Israeli aggression on the country.

October Reads

Imagining possibilities: Moving beyond criminalization as our dominant response to gender-based violence

How to Organise International Events and Convenings

The Movement for Community-led Development (MCLD), CIVICUS and Peace Direct have worked with Majority World signatories from November 2023 to co-create a guidance document on how to organise spaces and conversations on locally-led development. This guidance note was born out of listening sessions in multiple languages and a conversation carried out on a multilingual online platform called Platform4Dialogue during the months of February and March 2024. Read here.

Building solidarities for gender justice

Women’s and LGBTQI+ rights are being eroded around the world, amid a rising onslaught of repression. Progress made in recent decades towards gender equality has stalled, in the face of an convergence of well-funded, coordinated groups attacking gender justice activists and the legislation they have fought for. But feminist and queer movements can regain momentum in the current climate by building solidarities as a primary tactic to further gender justice. Read here.

Online Gender-Based Violence against Women* Environmental and Human Rights Defenders in Latin America

In 2023, the organisation Global Witness registered the killing of 196 environmental defenders, clarifying that this staggering figure could be even “higher”. Over 80 percent of documented murders occurred in Latin America. This report investigates online gender-based violence faced by women environmental defenders (WEDs) in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. In this research context, online violence refers to attacks perpetrated through digital platforms to intimidate defenders and hinder their activism. Read here.

Intersectionality and women’s participation in peace negotiations 

Despite a long history of feminist interventions to disrupt categories of gender as a stagnant, ahistorical or geographically consistent structure, rationales for women’s inclusion continue to rest on problematic narratives and assumptions. This paper draws on twenty-nine interviews with practitioners who speak to their experiences in peace negotiations and the expectations placed on women involved in these processes.  Read here.

In case you missed it

Women for Women International and GAPS have launched their ISF-funded project, Nisaa wa al Salam. This multi-year project will support 70+ grassroot, women-led organisations across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, working on areas including, women’s participation, climate resilience, gender-based violence and economic empowerment.

Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) have shared testimonies from Palestinian survivors of SGBV in the Occupied Palestinian Territory with Middle East Eye. Read the article and watch the video here.

ALIGN Platform is looking for research partners in the Global South to investigate how arts-based approaches can promote gender norm change to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV). Deadline: December 17. More details here. 

Episode two of Mind the GAPS, Season 3 “Sudan: a feminist approach” is out now! We are joined by two incredible Sudanese activists, Reem Abbas and Hala Alkarib, who invite us to consider the conflict dynamics at play in Sudan, how the international community is currently responding and what is most urgently needed. Listen here.

USA and the Philippines have signed an MOU to establish a Center of Excellence on Women Peace and Security. GAPS attended the International WPS Conference in the Philippines, which marked the signing, and is thrilled to be an implementing partner to help support this Center, and others hosted by the governments of Colombia and Kosovo.

Job Board

Gender Action for Peace and Security
WPS Programme Manager, (London), 23 December.

Care International 
Program Director, Made by Women Initiative, (Thailand).

Mercy Corps
GESI Capacity Building Advisor, (Ukraine), 17 December.

Oxfam
Humanitarian Gender in Emergencies Advisor, (Senegal or Ghana), 5 December.