Paper details
| Paper authors | Elena Boschiero, Manuela Mesa |
| In panel on | Feminist crisis response amidst anti-rights politics and backlash: insights from hum. practice (Roundtable) |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
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Abstract
This paper explores the potential of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda to serve as a strategic framework for strengthening feminist responses in humanitarian contexts, particularly in an era marked by anti-rights politics and backlash against gender equality. Rooted in international legal and normative commitments, the WPS Agenda emphasizes women’s leadership, protection, and participation, offering both conceptual and operational tools to transform crisis response.
Based on a participatory research on Triple Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus (HDP) and the WPS Agenda, we argue that a feminist application of the WPS Agenda enables humanitarian interventions that center the voices and agency of women, while addressing the structural causes of gender-based violence. Through an intersectional approach, the WPS framework ensures responses are sensitive to the differentiated impacts of conflict and crisis, promoting inclusion and equity.
Furthermore, its emphasis on peacebuilding aligns with the HDP nexus, fostering long-term, transformative outcomes. The paper also highlights the role of WPS in building accountability mechanisms, mobilizing gender-responsive funding, and reinforcing transnational feminist solidarity to counteract shrinking civic space and regressive political agendas.
Ultimately, the WPS Agenda provides a powerful platform to embed feminist principles in humanitarian action, not only mitigating harm but actively contributing to gender justice and sustainable peace.
