A light lunch will be provided (first come, first served
Violence against women is a critical indicator of instability and a key determinant for whether a society will be mired in poverty, impunity, and insecurity. There is a growing body of evidence showing this link; demonstrating the real physiological effect of violence and its consequences for the spread of insecurity and violent extremism; and showing the types of programs and interventions that can disrupt violence.
Futures Without Violence is releasing “Linking Security of Women & Security of States.” The report offers priority policy and programmatic recommendations to disrupt violence and enhance security and gender equality; summarizes the relationship between violent extremism, gender-based violence, and trauma; and identifies approaches that improve resilience, support survivors, and contribute exponentially to better development and security outcomes. The report explores:
· How gender-based violence and gender dynamics enter into the strategies and tactics of groups fomenting violence and recruiting for violent extremists
· How science-based understandings of the impact of trauma can improve interventions to improve resilience and reduce violence, counter insecurity and violent extremism, and improve recovery and reintegration
· A case study of Boko Haram, showing how these concepts come in play
Opening Remarks
Alexandre Marc is Chief Specialist, Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group, at the World Bank Group. He has over two decades of experience working in areas related to conflict and violence in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and East Asia. At the World Bank, he led the social cohesion and violence prevention team from 2009-2012, and was responsible for post-conflict reconstruction programs in Eastern Europe, as Sector Manager for Social Development, Europe and Central Asia Region. During this time, he also served as Director of the Roma Education Fund, an International Foundation based in Budapest that supports the inclusion of Roma children in education systems.
Moderator and Presenters
Maria Alexandra (Alex) Arriaga is the principal author and editor of “Linking Security of Women & Security of States: Policymaker Blueprint.” She has a breadth of policy and human rights expertise and has served in leadership positions in the White House, U.S. Congress and at international human rights organizations. She is managing partner at Strategy for Humanity, a consulting firm that provides institutions with policy, advocacy, and structural strategies to achieve full potential. In this capacity, she serves as a consultant and senior advisor to Futures Without Violence where she has created and led strategies that enhance approaches and investment for preventing and responding to gender-based violence globally.
James (Jim) A. Mercy, Ph.D., is the Director of the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) in the Injury Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this role, he provides leadership to innovative research and science-based programs to prevent violence and reduce its consequences. Dr. Mercy has authored more than 200 publications that span the areas of child maltreatment, youth and intimate partner violence, homicide, suicide, and firearm injuries.
Hilary Matfess is a specialist on the intersection of security and governance in sub-Saharan Africa. She is a freelance journalist, a senior program officer at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Nigeria, and a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at the National Defense University. She has conducted fieldwork in Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Her current research focuses on social violence and the gender dynamics in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
Closing Remarks
Markus Kostner is presently Global Lead for Stability, Peace, and Security at the World Bank. He joined the World Bank in 1999 as an Economist in the Post-Conflict Unit. He has worked extensively on social development issues over the past 25 years, including community driven development, fragility and conflict, and social analysis, including in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. He managed multiple operations and multi-donor trust funds, (co-)authored various papers, and participated in numerous post-crisis assessments and responses. Mr. Kostner was also a member of the World Development Report 2011 on Conflict, Security and Development. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was Associate Professor of Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and Adviser in the Multilateral Development Department at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others. He holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.
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(c) 2017 Security of Women & Security of States