Annotation:
This report by UN Women examines peace-building initiatives and the difficulties women face in participating in such. The document focuses on womens roles in reconciliation mechanisms for developing peace and protecting women. The document examines obstacles and solutions to womens engagement in peace-building initiatives and notes risks to physical safety, fear and gender roles encouraging male violence as disincentives to female participation. The document also notes problems in current funding mechanisms. In response to this funding challenge, UNIFEM provides some small grants, but this report notes difficulties in implementation of the grant system. The report also examines access to support services, awareness raising programs and conflict monitoring systems and concludes that these programs are helpful and essential, but insufficient in providing security for women at risk during armed conflict.