(T)error Violence

The global outbreak of violent extremism has affected most Western countries, but the Western Balkans region is more susceptible to extreme ideologies as the region is marred with post-conflict disagreements with pronounced violent narratives. In addition, factors such as the existence of large quantities of illegal weapons, the activities of individuals and groups who took part in the war in the Western Balkans during the 1990s or joined terrorist and armed groups in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine, organized crime and migrant crisis, pose an additional security risk for embracing the ideas of violent extremism. The role of women in the prevention of violent extremism in a predominantly traditional society, such as the Western Balkans, is significant, but women are still not recognized or systematically supported as an important prevention factor, especially in recognizing early factors of radicalization.

The local context and the traditional gender role of women in the community and family, especially in rural areas of the Western Balkans, indicate that women are often excluded from the decision-making process for male family members. For this reason, some mothers have not been able to dissuade their sons from accepting extreme ideologies that have led to a phase of approval of violent actions and a willingness to participate in them.

With this manual, we are presenting some contacts of VERLT, how it is connected with human rights, gender, and youth. We want to confirm the significance that the role of women has in detecting the early signs of radicalization because women are naturally sensitized to be the first to feel changes in behavior and attitudes in family members.

Also, we want to argue the role of girls and women presenting the institutions, and how this topic is related to hate speech.