Palestinian Women and Security: Why Palestinian Women and Girls Do Not Feel Secure

This report presents the perspectives of Palestinian women and girls on issues related to security as well as their assessment of the services provided by local authorities and/or the international community to address their security needs. It concludes with a series of recommendations made by Palestinian women and girls for improving these services.

The findings of this report are based on focus group discussions and in-depth interviews conducted by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) with Palestinian women and girls between June and November 2009 in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. DCAF hopes that the report’s findings will encourage stakeholders to integrate the perspectives of women and girls into the national security debate within the Palestinian Territories.

The report is divided into the following topics, as reflected in the findings:

•Military and Political Violence
•Perceptions of Insecurity in the Public Sphere
•Perceptions of Insecurity in the Home
•Perceptions of the Response Mechanisms
•The Recommendations of Women and Girls