Localizing Global Tools: Kenya Advances Gender-Responsive Approaches in Counter-Terrorism
The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), in partnership with the National Counter-Terrorism Centre of the Republic of Kenya and the Centre of Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), organized a workshop to adapt the Training of Trainers Manual on Gender Mainstreaming with Intersectional Approaches in Countering Terrorism and Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (CT/PCVE) to Kenya’s policy, programmatic, and institutional landscape.
The workshop, held on 21-25 July 2025 was facilitated by Dr. Jessica White and hosted in Nairobi by the Kenya School of Government, aimed to deepen the capacity of 18 government officials, civil society representatives, and practitioners to lead future trainings within Kenyan institutions and communities, while strengthening their understanding of gender-responsive and intersectional approaches to CT/PCVE.
The training explored how intersecting identity factors, such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, shape individuals’ experiences of terrorism and counter-terrorism policies and interventions. Through interactive sessions, participants identified practical strategies to integrate these considerations into national efforts to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism. Participants worked collaboratively to localize the Training of Trainers Manual’s content, tailoring exercises, case studies, and guidance to reflect Kenya’s national frameworks and local priorities.
From Training to Action
As a key outcome, participants developed inputs that will be integrated into a version of the Manual tailored to Kenya’s national priorities. The Manual will continue to be refined through follow-up sessions and consultations. A roadmap to guide future national-level trainings, led by Kenyan experts for Kenyan institutions will also be developed.
Mr. Steven Siqueira, Director for the Human Rights and Gender Section and Deputy Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of UNOCT added, “The contextualized Manual will not only serve Kenya’s national efforts—it will also stand as an emerging good practice for other countries in the region and beyond.”
Dr. Simon Nyambura, Director of the IGAD Centre of Excellence for the Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism, added, “This training offers a great opportunity to strengthen the capacity of each representative as national trainers and to build a roadmap for sustained implementation and peer learning.”
Mr. Humphrey Mokaya, Director of the Security Management Institute of the Kenya School of Government, remarked, “The final product should be a model for context specific programming for gender mainstreaming in CT/PCVE.”
Reinforcing UNOCT’s Commitment to Gender Equality
This workshop is the latest in a series of initiatives implemented under the Gender and Identity Factors Platform project, implemented by the UNOCT through its Human Rights and Gender Section to support Member States in integrating gender equality and human rights across CT/PCVE efforts, thanks to a contribution from Global Affairs Canada.
Since 2022, UNOCT’s dedicated Gender Unit within the Human Rights and Gender Section has worked to ensure that the Office’s global programming is informed by gender-sensitive and intersectional analysis. Guided by UNOCT’s Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Action Plan, the Gender Unit ensures that equality and inclusion remain central to all stages of project planning, implementation, and evaluation.