Search Kenya’s Gender Strategy (2019-2022)

At Search for Common Ground (Search), we are committed to transforming the way the world solves conflict, away from adversarial approaches and towards non-violent solutions. As an entire organization, we are currently transitioning within a ten-year plan that aims to realign our geographical focus and how we approach the mobilization of people and resources. In turn, as the Kenya office, we are shifting to think in terms of a regional approach, towards a focus on the Horn of Africa. We see the epicenter of violent extremism as Somalia, and Kenya as a spillover country for conflict.
We believe it is also time to refocus our commitment to gender. Gender equality is the subject of various international human rights and counter-terrorism doctrines, conveyed through United Nations Resolutions and Sustainable Development Goals. Kenya also enshrines concepts of gender equality within its Constitution. Focusing on gender will ensure we are upholding human rights and is a means to build long-lasting  peace.
With our office’s focus on violent extremism, we must take into account the gendered dynamics that go into the experience of the context surrounding these extremist groups. Men, women, boys, and girls all experience this context differently and have unique reasons for joining violent extremist groups. Understanding these gendered influences will help us to intentionally tailor our programs and work environment to create effective and sustainable change.
With that being said, we have developed a framework to ensure that a gender lens is incorporated into all of our activities. This gender strategy takes a holistic approach, considering:
1. the global organizational environment in which we are a part,
2. the internal dynamics of the office in which we work, and
3. the external programming in which we implement. We will use a gender analysis when examining and implementing organization-wide strategies. We will create a gendered balanced and gender supportive workplace, and ensure our budgets are gender responsive. We will consider gender in program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and working with partners.
This overall strategy will help our office become more gender transformative and promote gender equality. This focus on gender equality will in turn promote peace and security because we will be working to eliminate inequalities and create a more just society, where men and women, boys and girls are all equally valued and respected.