In November, ABColombia had the honour of hosting women human rights defenders Katerin Jurado (director) and Yirley Velasco (director), of the Colombian organisations Sisma Mujer and Mujeres Sembrando Vida, respectively. Their visit to London was part of a European advocacy tour highlighting the urgent challenges facing women in Colombia within the context of the ongoing internal armed conflict. Throughout their visit, they met with parliamentarians, academics and civil society groups, underscoring the vital need for continued international solidarity and the essential role women play in building and sustaining peace.
Gender-Based Violence on the Rise
Sexual and gender-based violence continues to escalate in Colombia, where armed groups use these crimes as a deliberate tactic of war, torture, terror and political repression, to increase social and territorial control. Women and girls face alarming levels of violence, including forced recruitment and trafficking, often facilitated through grooming and sexual harassment. The statistics are stark. According to Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office, child recruitment rose by nearly 1,000% between 2021 and 2024—from 36 children to almost 600. From January to October 2025 alone, 162 cases were recorded, 38% involving girls. These figures are widely understood to be underestimates, as families often fear reprisals from armed groups if they report missing children.
The situation for women human rights defenders is equally alarming. A woman defender is killed every 17 days, and five receive threats daily. In the first eight months of 2025, 732 women were killed, and three women every day experienced gender-based violence. Despite the scale of this crisis, impunity remains almost total—97% of conflict-related sexual violence cases remain unresolved.
The Work of Women Defenders
Against this dangerous backdrop, the work of defenders like Katerin and Yirley is both essential and extraordinarily courageous.
Yirley Velasco supports more than 700 women and girls who have survived sexual violence, providing legal and psychosocial accompaniment in their pursuit of justice and reparation. She, herself, is a survivor of sexual violence which happened when she was 14 years old in the El Salado massacre of 2000. Today, she continues her work as director of the organisation and human rights defender despite repeated and escalating threats against her and her family.
Women are central to building lasting peace. At an event in the UK Parliament on 18 November—hosted by ABColombia, the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group, and Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS)—Yirley described the deep sense of community she calls “juntanza”, the collective strength that motivates her to keep struggling for truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition. She knows all too well the impact of war on women, to their bodies and emotional well-being, as well as to their wider families and community. The reality they live in has convinced Yirley and Katerin that Colombia must continue to work on negotiated endings to conflicts, emphasising that lasting peace in Colombia is only possible with women at the table, shaping decisions and peacebuilding efforts.
When women are meaningfully involved in peace talks, peace agreements are more likely to endure. Research shows that peace deals with women’s participation are up to 35% more likely to last for 15 years and 64% less likely to fail. This is because women bring different perspectives that can address the root causes of conflict and create more inclusive, long-term peace solutions.
Women can bring something unique, because we look at the issue of conflict from a different angle. Women peacebuilders start building peace long before the formal process begins and continue long after.[i]
Advances in Women, Peace and Security: A Moment of Opportunity
Colombia has achieved major milestones thanks to the tireless work of women’s organisations. A gender perspective was successfully incorporated into the Peace Accord, including a landmark commitment of no amnesties for conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence—an essential step toward truth and justice for women survivors and LGBTQI+ communities.
Another major achievement is the adoption of Colombia’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP 1325)—finalised in November 2024 and enacted into law in November 2025. More than 1,500 women from all 32 departments contributed to its development, ensuring the plan reflects the realities and priorities of diverse communities. Because it’s a plan that contains women’s input, if implemented effectively, it could strengthen women’s participation in decision-making, improve access to healthcare and education services, and improve women’s economic autonomy. Yirley and Katerin stressed that the NAP1325, alongside the gender provisions of the Peace Accord, is crucial to lasting peace for women in Colombia.
Tackling Impunity: The Role of Transitional Justice
Addressing impunity for sexual violence is a central demand of women’s organisations. Katerin and Yirley highlighted the importance of Macro-Case 11. This case, in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) is investigating conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence committed by all armed actors between 1956 and 2016. As the last macro-case to be opened—seven years into the JEP’s mandate— Macro-Case 11 faces a shorter timeline ahead of the tribunal’s mandatory expiry date. A concern for all those involved.
The JEP system relies on perpetrators acknowledging responsibility, but in cases of sexual violence, this is far less likely. As Katerin explains, “People may admit to taking part in disappearances, but no one wants to be identified as a rapist.” This places a heavy burden on victims and the organisations representing them, as they must demonstrate that sexual violence was systematic and a generalised practice.
What Can the UK Do?
Katerin underscored that while violence has increased in recent years, it is essential to recognise the significant progress achieved. The advancement of the JEP and the adoption of NAP 1325 are major successes and must remain priorities for Colombia’s government and international partners.
The UK has already played a crucial role in supporting politically and financially the consultations on the NAP 1325’s. Continued financial, technical and political support is now vital to ensure its full implementation. For the UK to have the financial resources and political mandate to support Colombia’s NAP 1325 it is essential that the UK includes Colombia as a focus country in the UK NAP1325.
As the UN Security Council’s Penholder for the Verification Mission in Colombia, the UK was instrumental in securing the renewal of the Mission’s mandate, despite challenges. Yet the mandate has been narrowed, removing its role in monitoring the implementation of sentences of the JEP and the ethnic chapter of the Peace Accord. The UK should therefore ensure that UN bodies on the ground, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women, monitor and report on the implementation of these sentences and that these reports are presented to the Informal Group of Experts on Women, Peace and Security and the UN Security Council. In addition, sustained support—both financial and technical—for women’s organisations representing victims is essential. These organisations bear a significant burden in ensuring accountability for sexual violence and in protecting survivors who continue to be at risk. In addition to the risks facing women human rights defenders, the lack of financial resources is threatening their work. US Aid provided approximately 75% of funding to Colombian civil society organisations. The USA has cut this funding severely impacting their work at a crucial time for the peace process.
[i] Mossarat Qadeem, Executive Director of the PAIMAN Alumni Trust