Gender and Security Toolkit – Tool 1: Security Sector Governance, Security Sector Reform and Gender

Part of the Gender and Security Toolkit, the Tool:

- introduces why gender matters in security sector governance (SSG) and security sector reform (SSR), and outlines the benefits of integrating a gender perspective. It explains key concepts that are used in the Toolkit: gender, intersectionality, masculinities, femininities, gender equality and gender perspective, and also SSG and SSR. It gives an overview of some of the relevant international, regional and national legal obligations with respect to gender and SSG and SSR processes.

- presents a vision of what integrating a gender perspective and promoting gender equality mean for security and justice providers, for management and oversight of security sector and justice services, and for SSG and SSR processes.

- presents several different pathways for the security and justice sector to integrate a gender perspective into SSG and SSR and advance gender equality. It focuses on:

• defining security needs in an inclusive, gender-responsive manner;

• adopting policy frameworks to integrate gender equality into justice and security governance;

• gender training for security and justice providers;

• using staff with specialized gender expertise;

• changing masculine institutional cultures to increase women’s participation and diversity.

- provides advice on how to overcome resistance to working on gender equality within the security and justice sector.

- suggests elements of an institutional self-assessment checklist on integrating a gender perspective.

- lists other useful resources to support work on gender equality with the security and justice sector, and in relation to SSG and SSR.

The Toolkit was published with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). Its content does not necessarily reflect the policy and position of the OSCE/ODIHR.