This month, GAPS met with its members to discuss Women, Peace and Security priorities for the first time in-person before the pandemic. GAPS also have been continuing  to attend meetings with the UK Government on various work such as the National Action Plan, PSVI, Afghanistan and Ukraine…

GAPS is deeply concerned by last week's announcement of new UK asylum and returns policy by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The proposals focus on restricting rights rather than ensuring safety and protection and mark an alarming shift in the UK's…

October 2025 marks 25 years since the signing of the landmark United Nations Resolution 1325. This milestone should have been a moment of reflection, recommitment and collective mobilisation to advance the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda; however, the current…

In this Shadow Report Assessing UK Government Action of Women Peace and Security in 2024, GAPS assesses the UK Government’s implementation of its fifth National Action Plan (NAP) on…

This set of Case Studies - Assessing UK Government Action on Women Peace and Security in 2024 complements GAPS’ 2024 Shadow Report by grounding its analysis in the lived experiences of women and girls in conflict-affected contexts. Focusing on Ukraine, the…

Friday’s devastating earthquakes in Myanmar not only caused mass casualties and widespread destruction, they also deepened long-standing gender inequalities – leaving millions of women and girls at heightened risk. With at least 1,600 people have been killed, read Saferworld's response here. UN Women have provided a rapid gender analysis reporting that 'the earthquakes add another layer of hardship as (women and girls) face unsafe conditions, disrupted health services, and heightened risks of gender-based violence and exploitation—especially for girls separated from their families.' 

Read GAPS's secretariat statement in response to the recent UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on Israel's systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023.The COI report explicitly states that Israel has committed "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in Gaza by "deliberately inflicting on the Palestinian population conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part."

The UK has announced cuts to the aid budget while increasing defence spending. CARE’s recent report revealed that UK aid for gender equality fell from £6.3bn in 2019 to £3.4bn in 2022—the lowest on record since reporting began in 2014. With the latest round of cuts announced today, this decline will only deepen, compounding the effects of previous reductions and contributing to a global trend where major donors are pulling back from gender equality commitments.

Welcome to the GAPS September wrap-up.   On the 16th of September it was one year since the murder of Mahsa Jina Amini, which sparked widespread protests and continued resistance across Iran. The strict system of gender-based segregation, which a group…

Welcome to the GAPS August wrap-up.   August marks two years since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan. The human rights violations faced by women and girls, as well as other targeted communities based on ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation,…

Beyond Women, Peace and Security - Developing a Feminist Vision for Foreign Policy . In this Briefing, GAPS explores the concept and framework of Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP), asking what is required for Foreign Policy to be feminist in both…

In February 2023 GAPS welcomed the UK Government’s latest, fifth, National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. GAPS is launching the GAPS Response to the UK's 5th NAP, our response to the 2023-2027 UK NAP. The response outlines GAPS' reflections both on the NAP itself and implementation, including ongoing development of the UK Government’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan.  GAPS remains encouraged by the process in developing the NAP, particularly the consultative nature of it.

GAPS welcomes the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) publication of the International Women and Girls strategy on the 8th March 2023 . This strategy is an opportunity to meaningfully implement commitments to women’s rights and gender equality across the triple nexus of development, peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

GAPS released a statement with a call to action for Governments attending COP27 in Egypt on Monday 7th November 2022.

Following the UN Security Council’s 2022 Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, GAPS, as part of LEAP4Peace Consortium, has published a summary report titled Pillars for Peace. This summary report follows a report of the same title that was…

This joint policy report written by Dr Zeynep Kaya at the University of Sheffield, Dr Ilham Makki, and Gender Action for Peace and Security will be officially launched in Parliament on 10th October 2022 at an event of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security. The report follows fieldwork in Iraq with Women Human Rights Defenders and Women’s rights Organisations, and an evidence-driven conversation at a workshop in Amman, Jordan in June 2022.

GAPS released a statement on the UK Government's Rwanda Plan and first deportation flight on 14th June 2022.

GAPS has written a response to the FCDO's International Development Strategy (IDS) that was released last week outlining concerns that the Government’s ‘three E’s’ of education, empowerment, and ending violence silos efforts to tackle gender inequality under a ‘women and girls’ approach rather than addressing its root causes.

The No Women, No Peace. Campaign is the only Women, Peace and Security campaign of its kind in the UK. It was launched in the UK Parliament by former Foreign Secretary William Hague in 2010, a year which marked the 10th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. The origins of the campaign had a specific Afghanistan focus, promoting women’s participation in peace and security discussions in the Afghanistan.  The campaign has always worked closely with Afghan Women’s Rights organisations and advocates.