Our history

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation started very much as an act of solidarity, out of the need to do something. From the very beginning, we knew there were organisations in the Former Yugoslavia that worked to address the horrific consequences of the war and supported women who were victims of violence, including sexual violence, as well as  women refugees and internally displaced women. These organisations knew best what was needed and what we could support them with.

Since then, Kvinna till Kvinna has grown considerably. Today, we work with more than 100 women’s rights organisations—not just in the Balkans, but in conflict-affected areas across the world.

Read about 2003–2012 and 2013–2022 »

Our work starts in 1993, when reports of mass rapes during the wars in Former Yugoslavia reach Sweden.

“Genocide is happening in the heart of Europe. Powerless, we’ve stood by. Now, the time has come to put an end to this war! That is why we are launching a call to action: Kvinna till Kvinna.” – Op-ed in Dagens Nyheter

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation is founded in 1993, when reports of mass rapes during the wars in Former Yugoslavia reach Sweden. The Swedish peace and women’s movements make a joint appeal under the name of “Kvinna till Kvinna” (Woman to Woman) and hold a series of fundraising initiatives to support women’s rights organisations in the Balkans. Their call to action triggers a massive response. It is the start of Kvinna till Kvinna.

By September 1993, we have raised one million SEK. This makes it possible to travel to the conflict-affected Western Balkans, and to start supporting women’s organisations in the region.

Kvinna till Kvinna goes from being a network to becoming a foundation and settles in to the official head office in Stockholm.

Kvinna till Kvinna opens its first regional office in Croatia, covering both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The same year, the Dayton Accords are signed, a peace agreement marking the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is also the year of the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, with the goal of advancing women’s rights. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is adopted to showcase what is needed to secure women’s rights. One chapter focuses on women and armed conflict.

Kvinna till Kvinna’s Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina office finally moves to Sarajevo. We also open an office in Kosovo, at first together with other organisations.

That same year, the women’s movement in Croatia launches a campaign aiming to increase women’s participation in politics, calling it 51%. This is to highlight the fact that despite women making up more than half of the population in Croatia, they are entirely underrepresented in parliament.

In 2000, we present our report “Engendering the Peace Process: A Gender Approach to Dayton and Beyond.” The report exposes the consequences of the Dayton Agreement’s lack of a gender perspective. It is the first time ever a gender analysis of a peace agreement is published.

The same year, the UN Security Council adopts resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. It confirms the importance of women’s participation in peace processes. Our report is one of the foundations of the resolution.

On our 10th anniversary, Kvinna till Kvinna has 25 employees and cooperates with 70 women’s rights organisations in the Balkans, the Middle East and the South Caucasus.

That summer, we invite all partner organisations to Dubrovnik in Croatia, for several days of intense networking and best-practice sharing. Networking has always been key for Kvinna till Kvinna to build capacity, sisterhood and power.

The United Nations invite Kvinna till Kvinna to participate in on one of its expert meeting, to set the agenda for next year’s Commission on the Status of Women.

For a while, Kvinna till Kvinna had worked on media’s portrayal of women, and particularly women in conflict. This included working with peace journalism and discussing how to make it more gendered in its approach with one of the most important journalists in the field—Jake Lynch.

In 2005, we also produce a short report in Swedish (later translated), called “We report on women in war and conflicts” (Vi rapporterar om kvinnor i krig och konflikter). The report shines a light on how the media is covering women in conflict regions mostly as nameless victims, as well as the need for peace journalism and a gender perspective.

Read our report on the issue: “Peace journalism”.

We start to work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and thus enter a fourth region, even if it will take some years for us to open up our own office.

The same year we start our advocacy work towards the EU. This provides a forum for women from the Western Balkans to share their perspectives on women’s rights in the EU accession process.

Kvinna till Kvinna produces its first documentary, Women’s War, capturing a meeting between women’s rights activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and DRC on the work to support women victims of sexual violence in conflict. The activists visit each other, and sharing experiences and showed the length of the healing process.

With 20 years of supporting feminist movements, Kvinna till Kvinna works in 15 countries in Africa, the MENA region, the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans. In total, we support more than 100 local women’s rights organisations across the world.

Our documentary film “Six Days” has its premiere, a tribute to the thousands of women’s rights activists we have had the honour of working with. “Six Days” is shown at film festivals, the European Parliament and at European delegations in countries like Nepal and El Salvador. We also launch the Equal Power Lasting Peace report and host a full-day high level conference in Brussels targeting EU decision-makers.

Jordan sees a breakthrough in 2015, when a woman who had been domestically abused by her family is offered compensation for the first time. The decision receives a great deal of media attention, causing the general public to start questioning violence against women.

A second major success occurs in Liberia. In 2015, the country adopts a law against domestic violence and criminalises marital rape.

Kvinna till Kvinna starts working strategically with partner organisations on the Western Balkans to advocate for women’s rights in the EU accession process. This work has put gender equality and women’s rights in the Western Balkans on the EU’s agenda and has created a feminist advocacy network throughout the region.

In 2018, Kvinna till Kvinna celebrates its 25th anniversary!

We publish one of the very first reports on the gendered aspects of shrinking civic space, our “Suffocating the movement” report. State and non-state actors are increasingly targeting women’s rights activists. Spurred on by growing nationalism, extremism and fears of political change, they try to silence the movement with threats, hate campaigns and practical harassment.

In 2021, our report ‘Solidarity Is Our Only Weapon’ is published, painting a harsh picture of the abuse that women human rights defenders face. Even rights we sometimes take for granted—like a woman’s right to decide over her own body—are under attack.

But we still see the women’s movement create change in different parts of the world. In Rwanda, a whopping 89% of the women candidates our partner organisations had coached ahead of local elections are victorious. And, our Syria and Georgia teams organise their first-ever cross-regional exchange on working in active warzones.

With 30 years of supporting feminist movements, Kvinna till Kvinna now works in over 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the MENA region, the South Caucasus and Europe. In total, we support more than 140 local women’s rights organisations across the world.

In 2023, we are implementing our new global strategy A push for lasting peace. Together with our partner organisations across the world we enable empowerment of women, both in their own lives and in society.