Women without Borders

Women without Borders is an international advocacy and research organization headquartered in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 2002 by Edit Schlaffer, it was established around the idea that women can act as influential agents of change in communities affected by conflict, political instability, terrorism, domestic violence, and social transition. Rather than operating only as a conventional aid provider, the organization combines research, public advocacy, conferences, educational programming, survivor engagement, and locally oriented projects with international partner organizations. Its activities have covered a wide range of settings, including Afghanistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Yemen, Indonesia, Turkey, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Austria. Projects have addressed women's political participation, changing gender roles, trauma recovery, domestic violence, reconciliation, and the prevention of violent extremism. The organization has also used practical activities, including football and swimming, as tools for confidence-building, social connection, safety, and recovery. One of its early initiatives in Afghanistan produced a handbook encouraging women to vote in preparation for the 2004 Afghan elections. In Saudi Arabia, a two-year Bridging the Gap study examined attitudes toward gender roles, employment, and health among 4,455 male and female students at four universities. The research informed workshops for female students. Women without Borders has also provided platforms for women who experienced severe domestic violence through the Women Against Terror campaign, allowing them to present their own perspectives and experiences. In 2008, the organization launched Sisters Against Violent Extremism, commonly known as SAVE. Described as the first women's counter-terrorism platform, SAVE brought together survivors of terrorist attacks, relatives of victims and terrorists, activists, and policymakers. Its work subsequently expanded into student and school programming through Schools/Students Against Violent Extremism! and into family-focused prevention through Mothers for Change! SAVE has operated or established chapters and projects in several countries, including India, Yemen, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Women without Borders has received support from Austrian ministries, the Austrian Research Fund, the European Union, and the United States State Department, according to the organization's Wikipedia profile. Its executive board has included Austrian artist Xenia Hausner. The organization remains associated with international women's advocacy, applied research, violence prevention, and community-based responses to extremism. Detailed current information about its leadership, legal structure, financial position, and present program portfolio is not established by the supplied reference material.

Women without Borders was founded in Vienna in 2002 by Edit Schlaffer. Its founding premise was that women should be recognized not simply as beneficiaries of development or security programs but as actors capable of influencing families, communities, and wider political environments. The organization developed an international advocacy and research model, working with partner organizations in countries experiencing crisis, conflict, or social transition. An early expression of this model was the organization's first international conference in 2003. Eighteen women from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, South Africa, Israel, Palestine, and Senegal were invited, and later conferences involved public officials, members of parliament, and senior civil-society representatives. In Afghanistan, the organization prepared a voting handbook for women in advance of the 2004 elections. Other country programs addressed domestic violence, women's participation, reconciliation, and the practical consequences of disaster and conflict. Women without Borders has combined research with workshops and public programming. Its Bridging the Gap study in Saudi Arabia, supported by the Austrian Research Fund, ran for two years and surveyed 4,455 male and female students at King Saud University, King Abdul Aziz University, Qassim University, and King Faisal University. The study explored attitudes toward gender roles, future employment, and health, and its findings were used to design workshops for female Saudi students. The organization also created the Women Against Terror campaign, which gave women subjected to severe domestic violence a public platform for describing their experiences and viewpoints. Sports have been used as another practical method of social intervention. In Kigali, Rwanda, Kicking for Reconciliation! used football to bring Hutu and Tutsi girls together and help address trauma, hostility, and resentment. In Chennai, India, swimming lessons for women and girls were organized after the tsunami, with the stated aim of improving their ability to survive future emergencies. The organization's most prominent initiative is Sisters Against Violent Extremism, or SAVE, launched in 2008. Its inaugural conference was held in Vienna from November 28 to December 1, 2008. Participants included survivors of terrorist attacks, relatives of victims and terrorists, activists, and policymakers. The meeting sought to turn personal experience into prevention strategies and produced a SAVE declaration. Subsequent projects included Schools/Students Against Violent Extremism!, which established student groups and seminars in Delhi, Lucknow, and Mumbai, and comparable school work in Yemen and Indonesia. These programs used educational discussion and testimony from attack survivors to encourage young people to understand their possible role in preventing extremism. Mothers for Change! extended the SAVE approach to mothers and family networks. Pilot research was reported in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, reflecting the organization's belief that families can identify risks and offer alternatives to extremist recruitment. SAVE chapters or related structures were established in India, Yemen, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The organization has been supported by Austrian ministries, the Austrian Research Fund, the European Union, and the United States State Department. Its executive board has included Austrian artist Xenia Hausner. The supplied sources do not provide enough information to establish a complete current leadership roster, legal structure, annual budget, or recent operational status beyond the organization's continuing description as an international advocacy and research body.

• 2010

  SAVE trauma-support workshop in India

  [1]Women Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  A workshop served female relatives of police personnel involved in protecting people during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

• 2008

  SAVE launched

  [1]Women Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Women without Borders introduced Sisters Against Violent Extremism as a women-focused counter-extremism platform.

• 2004

  Afghan election handbook

  [1]Women Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  The organization created educational material encouraging Afghan women to participate in the country's 2004 elections.

• 2003

  First international conference

  [1]Women Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  The inaugural conference brought together 18 women from several conflict-affected and politically diverse countries.

• 2002

  Organization founded

  [1]Women Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Edit Schlaffer founded Women without Borders in Vienna with a mission centered on empowering women as agents of change.

A transnational women's advocacy and research organization that links empowerment, applied research, trauma recovery, reconciliation, and prevention of violent extremism. Its distinctive approach emphasizes women, students, mothers, survivors, and local communities as active participants in peacebuilding and violence prevention.

• Counter-extremism platform · 2008

  Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE)

  SAVE is Women without Borders' principal international platform for involving women in the prevention of violent extremism and terrorism. It connects survivors, relatives of victims and perpetrators, activists, policymakers, mothers, and students. Its activities include conferences, research, testimony-based education, local chapters, and practical programs intended to strengthen community resilience and provide alternatives to extremist narratives.

• Youth education program

  Schools/Students Against Violent Extremism!

  This SAVE-related program established student groups and educational seminars in Delhi, Lucknow, and Mumbai, with comparable activities reported in Yemen and Indonesia. Sessions used interactive learning and accounts from terrorist-attack survivors to help school and university students consider how they can resist extremist ideas and contribute to prevention.

• Family-based prevention program

  Mothers for Change!

  Mothers for Change! extends the SAVE framework into family and household settings. The initiative seeks to engage mothers in identifying risks, strengthening communication, and developing constructive responses to extremism and terrorism. Pilot research was reported in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, although the supplied material does not establish the program's current scale or results.

• Research and workshop program

  Bridging the Gap

  Bridging the Gap was a two-year Saudi Arabian research project supported by the Austrian Research Fund. It surveyed 4,455 male and female students at four universities about gender roles, employment expectations, and health. Women without Borders used the findings to develop workshops for female Saudi students.

• Sports-based reconciliation program

  Kicking for Reconciliation!

  Conducted in Kigali, Rwanda, Kicking for Reconciliation! used football to bring Hutu and Tutsi girls together. The project was designed to help participants process trauma and reduce inherited hostility, resentment, and social separation through shared activity.

• Domestic-violence advocacy campaign

  Women Against Terror

  Women Against Terror provided women who had experienced severe domestic violence with a platform to express their personal views and experiences. The campaign connected public testimony with the organization's broader interest in violence prevention and women's agency.

• 2008Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE)

  International · Austria · India · Yemen · Northern Ireland · United Kingdom

  SAVE was launched as a women-focused platform against violent extremism. Its first conference in Vienna brought together survivors, relatives, activists, and policymakers to share experiences and formulate collective prevention approaches.

  Outcome. The initiative produced a SAVE declaration and later developed country chapters, student programs, school activities, and family-focused work.

  Source
• Schools/Students Against Violent Extremism!

  India · Yemen · Indonesia

  Student groups and interactive seminars were organized in Delhi, Lucknow, and Mumbai, with similar school-focused projects reported in Yemen and Indonesia. Survivor testimony was used to help students understand the human consequences of terrorism and their potential role in preventing extremism.

  Outcome. The program expanded SAVE's prevention model into schools and universities; the supplied material does not provide quantified outcomes.

  Source
• Mothers for Change!

  Yemen · Saudi Arabia

  Mothers for Change! sought to involve mothers in efforts to counter extremism and terrorism, based on the premise that family networks can support early prevention and constructive alternatives.

  Outcome. Pilot research was underway in Yemen and Saudi Arabia according to the reference material; broader results are not reported.

  Source
• Kicking for Reconciliation!

  Rwanda

  Football was used in Kigali to bring Hutu and Tutsi girls together and address trauma, hate, and resentment.

  Outcome. The reference describes the program's intended reconciliation function but does not provide formal evaluation results.

  Source
• Post-tsunami swimming lessons

  Chennai, India

  Swimming lessons were provided for women and girls in Chennai after the tsunami to improve their prospects of surviving similar future events.

  Outcome. The activity combined practical safety training with support for women and girls after a major disaster; no measured outcomes are supplied.

  Source

• 2008

  Adopt a women-led counter-extremism strategyStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought to address terrorism and violent extremism through the experiences and social influence of women, including survivors, mothers, students, and relatives of victims.

  Action taken

  It created the SAVE platform, convened an international conference in Vienna, and developed a declaration and subsequent country-based programs.

  Aftermath

  SAVE expanded into student, school, family, and chapter-based initiatives in several countries.

  Source

• 2004

  Support Afghan women's electoral participationOther

  Background

  Afghanistan was preparing for elections, and the organization identified women's participation as an area where practical information could support civic engagement.

  Action taken

  Women without Borders produced a handbook encouraging Afghan women to vote.

  Aftermath

  The handbook became one of the organization's early country projects; its reach and measurable impact are not reported.

  Source

1. 1Women Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Women without Borders official websitewomen-without-borders.org