Mwanamke Imara: Strengthening Women’s Leadership in P/CVE among State Security and Justice Institutions across Coastal Kenya| Baseline Report

Search, in partnership with Action Life and YOWPSUD, is implementing the ‘Mwanamke Imara’ project with the ultimate outcome of strengthened women’s leadership in advancing P/CVE within state security and justice institutions across coastal Kenya.
Focusing on the coastal counties of Kilifi, Lamu, Tana River, and Kwale, this project targets the need for greater leadership of women in security and justice, recognizing that their perspectives and community influence are crucial for building trust and addressing the gender-specific drivers and impacts of VE.

This baseline study aims to establish a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape, with a particular focus on gender dynamics, capacity gaps among state security and justice actors—especially women—and potential entry points to promote women’s leadership.

It also aims to generate baseline indicator values, assess potential risks associated with the project and draw recommendations for programming to ensure “Do No Harm”, safeguarding, and conflict sensitivity are embedded in the project.

KEY FINDINGS

Objective 1: Assess the current context of conflict and gender dynamics in the target communities and their implications for women’s leadership in security and justice institutions

#Finding 1: Gender-based, resource-based, and livelihood conflicts are the most prevalent, with significant county-level and gender variations

#Finding 2: County-level variations reveal context-specific conflict patterns

#Finding 3: Gender differentials reveal women’s heightened vulnerability

#Findings 4: Traditional gender role expectations and family responsibilities are key barriers affecting women’s leadership

#Findings 5: Gender inequality norms and economic deprivation were the most prevalent root causes impacting women in leadership roles

Objective 2: Assess the capacity gaps and needs among state security and justice actors (specifically women) and entry points to foster women’s leadership

#Findings 6: Discriminatory recruitment and exclusion from decision-making constitute primary institutional barriers to women’s Leadership

#Findings 7: Inclusive recruitment and performance-based approaches emerge as primary formal pathways for women’s leadership advancement

#Finding 8: Community-based platforms and women groups (chamas) emerge as primary informal pathways for women’s leadership development

CONCLUSIONS

The study reveals that women face deeply rooted gender-specific challenges within communities, and especially in security and justice institutions. Conflict dynamics, ranging from tribal violence and land disputes to drug abuse and violent extremism. This disproportionately affects women, often leaving them displaced, overburdened, and vulnerable.

The baseline study reveals a complex but promising landscape for advancing women’s leadership in P/CVE across Kenya’s coastal counties. While women continue to face entrenched barriers, ranging from cultural expectations and religious constraints to institutional biases within justice and security sectors, there is strong evidence of community support, agency, and recognition of women’s roles in peacebuilding. At the same time, a growing recognition of meaningful male engagement, importance of education, economic empowerment, and visible female role models is emerging as a powerful force in shifting attitudes and advancing women’s leadership in P/CVE efforts.

The data shows that women perceive themselves as capable of influencing change, with 88% expressing confidence in their impact within communities. High levels of trust in women-led initiatives, particularly in Lamu and Tana River, further reinforce the potential for scaling inclusive interventions. Notably, 83.3% recognition of women’s groups (Chamas) signals their critical role as organizing platforms for community-level resilience.

Opportunities also lie in the strong sense of agency among youth and women, the elevated trust in informal justice and security structures, and the willingness of some County-level institutions to adapt. Despite lower scores in counties like Kwale and among security actors, these disparities present targeted entry points for reform, capacity building, and locally driven gender transformation.

Overall, while challenges remain, the data highlights clear opportunities for Search and its partners to work with local institutions, community leaders, and civil society actors to unlock and support women’s leadership as a pillar of sustainable peace and security in the region.

RECOMMENDATIONS

From the study it is recommended that;
County governments
-Design and fund county-level strategies that support women’s leadership in P/CVE, including safe spaces for women-led organizations, gender-responsive infrastructure in institutions, and awareness campaigns to challenge exclusionary norms.
-Should establish institutionalized partnerships with Search and partners through formal memorandums of understanding and create county-level women’s P/CVE coordination committees to ensure sustainability beyond project timelines.
-Develop gender-responsive land and water management policies, given that most conflicts are resource-based and disproportionately affect women.
-Due to a lot of dynamics and variations across the counties in the findings, County government and Search should adapt and tailor approaches in each County given the sensitivities, cultural dynamics and barriers or opportunities.

Search & Partners
-Integrate gender-sensitive and P/CVE leadership modules into all programming and capacity-building efforts, ensuring both institutional and community actors are trained on inclusive, rights-based approaches to peace and security.
-Implement differentiated approaches by County, given significant variations for women’s P/CVE leadership access and conflict dynamics, develop county-specific strategies rather than uniform programming.
-Develop comprehensive safeguarding protocols including anonymous reporting mechanisms, establish community accountability structures with women’s representation.
-Develop intensive mentorship and peer support networks to address the confidence gap in women.

Justice institutions
-Promote inclusive judicial practices by implementing mentorship programs, strengthening gender desks, and enhancing accountability systems to address workplace discrimination and improve women’s access to leadership and influence.

Security institutions
-Collaborate with Search to enable them to adopt more gender-responsive approaches and break down socio-cultural barriers that remain a challenge.
-Institutionalize reforms that increase women’s participation in leadership, deploy gender focal points in command structures, and ensure recruitment and training policies promote equal opportunity and responsiveness to women’s safety concerns.

CSOs and NGOs
-Mobilize and strengthen women’s groups (Chamas) as entry points for P/CVE engagement, while facilitating intergenerational mentorship and community dialogues that amplify women’s voices in peacebuilding and decision-making processes.
-Should design culturally sensitive community dialogue programs that engage men as champions of women and leadership, establish platforms for showcasing successful women leaders as role models, create multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms to prevent working in silos, and develop economic empowerment programs linked to leadership development.

Religious and Community leaders
-Support and legitimize women’s leadership within local peace and conflict resolution mechanisms by ensuring their representation in community forums, mediation processes, and customary leadership platforms, especially where informal authority shapes local security responses.