Strategy 2020–2024

Among the global trends that impact DCAF’s work, “obstacles remain for achieving gender equality and overcoming gender discrimination.” Therefore, unless project design addresses these issues at the earliest stage, existing barriers within security institutions and society make it much more challenging to do so later in a project.

DCAF tracks strategic objectives that include key gender equality indicators, such as the “number of projects which promote gender equality” and the “proportion of staff trained on… gender mainstreaming in programmes.”

Additionally, the recently established Gender Focal Points (GFP) across all DCAF will take active part in integrating gender in their respective projects and programs.

The first of four principles that DCAF deems essential to good SSG is “a human rights-based approach with gender equality at its core.” By placing gender equality at the core of this approach means it is not an add-on, and is never peripheral, but sits at the heart of all DCAF projects and must be central to all project design.

Several references to gender equality in the DCAF Strategy for 2020–2024 are important to consider in the process of project design: