Report on the Assessment of Violence Against Women in Elections in Somalia

The main objectives of this report are to assess the relevance and applicability of the development of an election-specific mechanism to monitor violence and discriminatory practices against women in elections and to determine if relevant early warning systems exist in Somalia; to draw relevant examples and lessons learned from similar countries that have previously had an electoral system that focused on the monitoring and prevention of election violence, with a focus on women; and to suggest the way forward in setting up a platform that will work with key stakeholders to address all forms of electoral violence in the upcoming elections. This assessment established, through interviews with study participants, that violence against women in elections is prevalent in Somalia. Furthermore, the study found no evidence of the existence of any early warning systems or strategies to respond specifically to violence against women in elections in Somalia. However, the assessment confirmed, from a review of the literature and interviews, that violence against women in elections is widespread in Somalia and that women participating in politics were victims of various acts and forms of election violence in the 2012 and 2016/17 elections. Violence against women in elections in Somalia is embedded in a social, economic and political context that does not favour the free participation of women in an electoral process.