With support from the Government of Norway, and in cooperation with the Colombian NGO Corporación de Investigación y Acción Social y Económica (CIASE) , DCAF is contributing to the implementation of the peace accords in Colombia by creating opportunities for dialogue around the security concerns of women in areas of Colombia that were formerly controlled by the FARC. In these regions redeployment of state institutions and the restitution of the rule of law are key priorities.

Together, DCAF and CIASE developed a series of recommendations for the Colombian state, the police and the international community on how to improve the provision of safety to meet the security needs of women living in these rural areas. The recommendations were developed through consultations with women in five affected municipalities –La Guajira, Caquetá, Cauca, Meta and Tolima – reaching women of all ages and ethnicities, and victims of violence and former guerrilla fighters.

Through the project’s second phase we are expanding the consultation process to other so-called ‘transition areas’. We are holding capacity-building workshops for women and the police in the tar-geted areas, and facilitating dialogue between women’s groups and security and justice providers in rural areas to enable better access to security and justice for women.