Theme: Women, Peace, & Security

The pervasive issue of Cyber Sexual and Women-Targeted Violence (CSWTV) has emerged in Sri Lanka alongside the increase in digital penetration and internet accessibility. This study, conducted in 2023 as part of the project “Caught in the Web – Tackling Gendered Drivers of the Conflict and Exclusion in Cyberspace”, commissioned…

In a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Iraq, many parents struggle to meet their children’s basic needs. When emergency situations become long-term displacement, relief aid funding dries up, and people have to fend for themselves. We met Khernof, a widow with four children, in an IDP camp…

Your Investment in Entrepreneurs Puts People First in Venezuela Our cohort of female entrepreneurs have had their small businesses open for 6 months. Collage by Kara Schectman from photos by our local partner. “Feeling that you are useful is really good,” Edgardelis says, an impish grin spreading across her face.…

“I would feel really peaceful and happy if I had some food for every day, for several weeks.” It was something of a dream for Hermilda, to have access to a few weeks worth of food, to be free from the worry of starving. “I ask God to send me his…

Nadima’s vision was so clear, she could imagine every element. She dreamed of opening a glamorous salon for women. The interior would be spacious and clean; painted a chic charcoal grey with mirrors and trim details picked out in gold. It would be a comfortable space for women to get…

Women receive training to strengthen their ability to work with victims of trafficking and violence against women. Photo by our local partner. In a Tashkent hotel conference room, a dozen women have gathered. Leaders of their own nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are here to design new projects to empower women in…

Bayan’s new sewing business in Sinjar buzzes with energy: sewing machines humming, scissors cutting, people chatting, filling the air with warmth and heart. Her customers travel from all across the area for her beautifully crafted ceremonial dresses. Bayan’s shop is not just a business to support her family but a…

We’re peacebuilders in Sri Lanka who are a part of the world’s largest locally-rooted peacebuilding organization. Others like us are working across 33 countries to change the way the world deals with conflict. We believe that conflict is natural, but violence is always avoidable. In our 40 years of working…

Women traders walk several kilometers to reach border markets. Photo by our local partners. On either side of the rust-colored mud road, hills green with abundance climb to the horizon. Far from the border, the crisp morning quiet is fragile. A woman with a basket balanced on her head hurried…

“I notice that you purchase and give the hygiene products with love, and when someone gives things with love, they will receive much,” Alma said, opening her hygiene kit bag. Alma, whose name means soul in English, has deep experience in the transformative power of love. Back home in Honduras,…