Data Assessment Tool

Introducing the “Enhancing Security” Project

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In 2020, Women In International Security (WIIS) was approached by the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to establish a baseline of data and best practices to assist partner nations in 29 Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries in evaluating the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in their respective military and police forces. Data for 14 countries (13 countries in SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility (AOR), plus Mexico) were collected in 2020, and data collection for the remaining 15 LAC countries in its AOR was conducted in 2022-2023.

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For this project, WIIS expanded its gender assessment tool, originally developed for a similar project for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2015, adding and adapting indicators relevant to the Latin American and Caribbean case. In particular, indicators for evaluating police agencies working at the national level were developed, recognizing operational duties, including that the national police may be called upon to respond to cases of civil unrest and protect borders or deal with in-country humanitarian emergencies.

In sum, 51 indicators were developed to examine the degree of political will, change in institutional policies and practices, and the existence of a sustainable monitoring and evaluation mechanism in military and national police forces in each country. The project aimed to establish the level of importance a government places on women’s inclusion in security considerations and operational forces, whether a national government was actively engaged in changing institutional structures, policies, and practices to align with WPS goals, and whether the national government had institutionalized a monitoring and evaluation framework to chart its progress over time.

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Methodology

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Of the 29 countries studies, 14 were selected for the 2020 study: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Mexico. The 2022-2023 study examined an additional 15 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis. St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Suriname.

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The Enhancing Security project utilized quantitative and qualitative data to better analyze the challenges to integrating the WPS agenda in the region and uncover previously unidentified opportunities and partnerships for further development of the WPS agenda. The mixed methodological framework involved recruiting 29 research country teams (from national and local government representatives, military and police personnel, civil society, and academe) to collect the data. Workshops were organized to create and train the teams and assist in quantitative and qualitative data collection. The research country teams worked with the WIIS team to process and verify the data. The quantitative tables and qualitative country reports collected for the 29 countries can be accessed (HERE). WIIS published its findings in the 2020 report “Enhancing Security: Women’s Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean” and the 2023 report "Enhancing Security: Women's Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean."

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Using the Data Assessment Tool

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Introducing the “Enhancing Security” Project

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Methodology

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Using the Data Assessment Tool

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