This year’s International Women’s Day (#IWD2026), under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,” emphasizes the need to dismantle discriminatory laws, strengthen legal protections, and promote survivor-centered justice systems that address structural barriers to redress. Yet today, not a single country has closed the justice and legal gaps that hold women back and enable impunity for gender-based harms. In contexts affected by terrorism, these gaps often widen further.
Here are some resources from the Gender and Identity Factors Resource Library that illuminate the need for justice systems’ responses to terrorism that uphold the rights and dignity of all women and girls.
1. Understanding the Lives of the Women, Men, and Children of AlHol Camp (UN Women, 2025)
This UN Women study examines the gendered experience of arbitrary and indefinite detention in AlHol camp, drawing on surveys of 1,440 Syrian and Iraqi households, oral histories, and interviews. AlthoughAlHol was fully evacuated and closed in late February 2026, the study’s findings are even more relevant today. The layered gender-based violence women experienced – including forced marriage, sexual harassment, and intimate partner violence – as well as economic marginalization and stigma, now shape reintegration under even more precarious conditions. The report’s recommendations for human rightsbased, survivor-centered repatriation, reintegration, and transitional justice strategies provide essential guidance as governments and humanitarian actors work to locate and support the thousands of women and children dispersed during the February 2026 evacuation.
🔗 Access the resource here.
2. Towards Meaningful Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Linked to Terrorism (CTED, 2023)
Sexual and genderbased violence (SGBV) remains one of the least prosecuted crimes associated with terrorism. This study from the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) analyzes global legal frameworks and reveals persistent gaps in prosecution, survivor protection, and accountability. It underscores how SGBV is used strategically by terrorist groups, and why justice systems must adopt survivor-centered, gendersensitive approaches – including better prosecution strategies, improved international cooperation, and more substantive engagement with civil society.
🔗 Access the resource here.
3. The Expanding Use of Administrative Measures in a CounterTerrorism Context — Part 2: Need for a Gender- and Age-Sensitive Approach (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 2021)
Administrative measures – such as travel bans, movement restrictions, and control orders – are not gender-neutral. When gender and age factors are overlooked, these measures can reinforce stereotypes about women as caregivers, deepen discrimination, and create new rights violations. This policy brief calls for systematic gender- and age-sensitive impact assessments, stronger oversight mechanisms, and closer alignment with human rights and rule of law standards.
🔗 Access the resource here.
These resources show that:
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Justice must reflect the lived realities of women and girls, especially in contexts affected by terrorism.
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Gender-blind counter-terrorism approaches often reinforce injustice rather than deliver security.
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Accountability for gender-based harms, such as sexual- and gender-based violence, is essential for sustainable justice and peace.
We encourage you to further explore the library of close to 200 resources on gender and intersectionality in CT/PCVE. The resources are searchable by theme, keywords, geographic scope, and other criteria.