Search for Common Ground conducted research aiming to validate previous studies conducted by Search and other non-governmental organizations on push and pull factors in Tunisia through a desk-based review and identify community-specific drivers and narratives of violent extremism through key informant interviews, focus groups, and regional meetings.
The research distilled the following recommendations for action on alternative narratives:
In conjunction with working on alternative narratives, develop a “package” of measures to provide concrete support to youth, such as improving access to public services, sports and cultural infrastructure, and programs to provide tangible economic benefits to youth.
Improve strategic coordination among CSOs, and between CSOs and relevant state institutions.
Change the modus operandi towards violent extremism, recognizing its capacities to target and respond to its audience and to take advantage of the absence of state institutions.
Develop a national initiative on alternative narratives that would be closely integrated into national strategies on countering terrorism and violent extremism.
This study is part of the Youth Consultations on Peace and Security in Tunisia after the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace, and Security acknowledging the critical role of youth to contribute to the sustainability of peace rather than stereotyping them as victims or perpetrators of violence. The research activities were implemented by Search in 2015 and funded by the United Nations Population Fund.
The study was based on a qualitative approach, with the objective of providing hard to reach young men and women from six localities in Tunisia the opportunity to express themselves about how they are most affected by violence.
Among the research findings, the study highlights women of all ages experience violence according to gender stereotypes and cultural social codes that impede their freedom and well-being. Women are still seen as the primary victims of violence and easy targets, but acts of violence are usually assigned to men. For young men between 15 to 25 the main source of violence is the police, perceived as enemies. The recommendations revolve around adopting personalized approaches aligned with the real needs of young people. It is also important to build trust with youth to ensure their effective engagement in peacebuilding programs.
SFCG Tunisia has designed the “Women Dialogue” program (WD) as an attempt to bridge the gap between main ideologically-opponent groups such as leftist and Islamist women CSO WD Phase 1 – which started in 2013 – achieved most of its objectives mainly raising women’s awareness on the usefulness of dialogue, enhancing mutual acceptance and helping women discover common ground concerns. This paved the way for “specific actions to undertake”, implying institutional commitment from each organization participating in the Dialogue. WD Phase 2 aims “to further support the existing dialogue coalition of women, to deepen the dialogue within their base and respective constituencies, to engage in joint legal advocacy efforts.”
The present baseline evaluation report intended to concretely measure (1) cohesion among women participants (2) level and quality of dialogue among participants (3) level and quality of joint advocacy activities/initiatives for select women’s rights issues.
