OSCE helps tackle violent extremism online through increased gender awareness in North Macedonia

Participants at a training course on understanding the linkages between violent misogyny, violent extremism, and gender, Skopje, 8 September 2024. (OSCE) Photo details

On 7 and 8 September in Skopje, North Macedonia, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with OSCE Mission to Skopje, organized a training course on understanding the linkages between violent misogyny, violent extremism, and gender. This course is part of the OSCE's ongoing efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT).

The training course brought together approximately 20 participants including government officials and policymakers from the security, education and media sectors, as well as civil society representatives, media professionals and community and religious leaders.

The event focused on addressing challenges in the digital information landscape as they relate to violent extremism and violent misogyny. The participants discussed the links between gender, violent misogyny and violent extremism online, with the aim to advance gender-responsive and comprehensive approaches to P/CVERLT.

Key aspects of the training course were tailored specifically to North Macedonia's needs. This included building resilience to online disinformation and exploitation by violent extremists of targeted narratives, raising awareness of the misuse of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and discussing how gender stereotypes and violent misogyny have been found to play an important role in the process of radicalization to violence.

"In the era of digital information disorder, fake news and artificial intelligence, improving media and information literacy is key to addressing the links between violent misogyny, violent extremism, and gender, enabling communities to critically engage with information and create a safer society. It is essential to enable continuous education for all, especially for young people," said Pavle Trajanov, National Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism and Counter-Terrorism of the Republic of North Macedonia in his opening remarks.

This training course is part of the OSCE extrabudgetary project INFORMED and supported the OSCE's ongoing efforts to advance gender-responsive and evidence-based P/CVERLT programming, building on the OSCE Policy Brief - Linkages between Violent Misogyny and Violent Extremism. The policy brief recommends governmental and non-governmental stakeholders the ways to enhance the understanding of how power relations, generally, and violent misogyny, specifically, play a role in the radicalization to violence across the ideological spectrum of violent extremism. It also notes the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to identifying ways to address this issue, including in the online space.