Peace and security

Women are still not adequately represented in the peace and security sectors of the region. Getting data for this sector remain a challenge as the statistics remain shrouded in secrecy and are generally not gender disaggregated. Gender does not feature prominently in the SADC Secretariat Security Organ yet this has huge bearing on the sub-region human security decisions.

With 26% women in the defence force, 31% in the police force and 54% deployed as peacekeepers, Namibia is showing the way for gender representation in the security sector. Lesotho boasts the most women police officers, with 31% of these in senior positions. SADC Gender Unit and SADC Organ, working with the institute for security studies as lead of the Gender, Peace and Security cluster of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol, has developed a Framework to mainstream Gender into the SADC Organ and a strategy to combat Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Conflict and Post -Conflict situations. Click here for the peace and security chapter