About Us

Our Vision, Our Purpose, and the Vounteers & Members that make it happen.

Our Vision

is a world in which gender equality, and the contributions and rights of diverse women and girls, are at the forefront of transforming conflict to build peace.

OUR PURPOSE

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1

Reshaping the peace and security dialogue, policy and practice in Australia and our region away from an increasingly militarised and securitised approach towards a transformative women, peace and security agenda.

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2

Redefining security for all women within Australia’s domestic and foreign policy.

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3

Harnessing the collective power of women’s movements and peace movements towards our vision in Australia, our region and globally.

VOLUNTEERS

Anuradha Mundkur

Australian Council for International Development

Dr Anu Mundkur is an independent consultant. Her areas of expertise include women peace and security; feminist approaches to international relations; gender, women and international aid. Anu represents the Coalition on the Australian National Action Plan Inter-Departmental Sub-committee.

Melissa Monteiro

Community Migrant Resource Centre

Melissa Monteiro, is the CEO of the Community Migrant Resource Centre (NSW) with over twenty five years’ experience in the community sector. Melissa is passionate about resettlement and social justice issues and her areas of expertise include building the capacity of small and emerging communities, leadership skills development, women, & youth mentoring.

Roslyn Dundas

CARE Australia

Roslyn Dundas is a Policy and Advocacy Advisor with CARE Australia. Roslyn is an active feminist and social justice advocate. She was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, being the youngest woman ever elected to a parliament in Australia (at that time – 2001).

Navanita Bhattacharya

Plan International Australia

Navanita has 20 years experience working in Asia, Africa and Oceania. She has been providing practical guidance to national governments, UN agencies, Managing Contractors, and international non-profits on violence against women and girls, women’s political participation and leadership, and the intersectionality of gender and inclusion, on cross- sectoral domains in fragile and development contexts.

Ludmilla Kwitko

Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom

Ludmilla Kwitko represents the Coalition on the Australian National Action Plan Inter-Departmental Sub-committee. She is the ACT Branch representative to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF Australia Board). Ludmilla also is a member of the Steering Committee on the Civil Society Advisory Panel on Women, Peace and Security to NATO. Currently she works as an independent consultant.

Barbara K. Trojanowska

Monash Gender, Peace and Security

Barbara is a doctoral researcher at Monash University’s Gender, Peace, and Security Center. Her professional experience encompasses working both for government and non-government sectors, including for the Norwegian Peace Council and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

Barbara O'Dwyer

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Barbara is an Aid and development specialist focusing on gender, peacebuilding and humanitarian affairs with a Masters in Peace Studies. She represents the Coalition on the Australian National Action Plan Inter-Departmental Committee. She is the President of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Australia.

Susan Hutchinson

Australian National University

Susan Hutchinson is a civil-military professional with experience in government, military and non-government organisations. She is currently a PhD scholar at the Australian National University. Susan is the architect of the Prosecute; don’t perpetrate campaign calling for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide perpetrated by Islamic State. She is one of the founding members of the Coalition and the Annual Civil Society Dialogue on Women Peace and Security.

Laura J Shepherd

University of Sydney

Laura J. Shepherd is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Professor of International Relations in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Australia, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security, UK. Laura’s primary research focuses on the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Sharon Smee

International Women’s Development Agency

Sharon is Senior Research, Policy and Advocacy Advisor at IWDA. Working as a policy advisor and consultant for more than 10 years, Sharon has developed extensive experience in researching women’s rights issues and analysing gender and development policy and practice both in Australia and internationally. She leads IWDA’s policy and advocacy work on the SDGs, women, peace and security, civil and political participation and violence against women. Sharon is also a qualified lawyer.

Sarah Boyd

Monash Gender, Peace & Security Centre

Sarah Boyd is a Practitioner Fellow at Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre and co-Founder and Principal of The Gender Agency. She has worked as a gender specialist for over a decade in international development, peacebuilding and humanitarian affairs. In 2016, she was the first Gender Adviser to be deployed as a civilian Women, Peace and Security Specialist by DFAT (Australian Civilian Corps) to enhance women’s participation in Myanmar’s ongoing peace process. She is a Gender, Peace and Security specialist on the UK government’s Civilian Stabilisation Group.