Edit Schlaffer

Dr. Edit Schlaffer (born 25 September 1950 in Stegersbach, Burgenland, Austria), is a social scientist and the founder of Women without Borders, based in Vienna, Austria. Her international efforts focus on grassroots, community-based female diplomacy, namely empowering women as agents of change and a critical driving force in stabilizing an insecure world.

She and Cheryl Benard contributed the piece "Benevolent despotism versus the contemporary feminist movement" to the 1984 anthology Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology, edited by Robin Morgan.

Schlaffer started Women without Borders in 2002, headquartered in Vienna, which partners with local organizations in various countries to implement a number of integrated projects that aim to strengthen capabilities through education, collaboration and self-confidence: key tools for establishing a female power base in countries in crisis and transition.

In 2008 she launched the Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) campaign, focusing Women without Border’s efforts to the security arena, organizing women (and men) internationally to take part in a research-based, family-centered counter-radicalization platform. Schlaffer’s work seeks to propagate a security paradigm in which women serve on the front lines; one in which women’s talents, skills, and unique position within the family structure are used to shape a new security architecture.

In implementing the SAVE platform, Schlaffer has partnered with organizations in six different countries including India (and Kashmir), Pakistan, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Zanzibar and Nigeria to set up "Mothers' Schools." These series of weekly training meetings, run by female community leaders, empower mothers with the competence and confidence to safeguard the young from the threat of violent extremism and the lure of radicalization. Furthermore, these meetings allow for collaboration, mutual support, and shared understanding.

A regular contributor to various news outlets including Huffington Post and Reuters Trust Law blogs, Schlaffer’s efforts and research focus on gender and counter-terrorism strategies, peace-building through dialogue, and examining the role of civil society in improving the security architecture. In 2013, Schlaffer, in collaboration with Dr. Ulrich Kropiunigg, conducted the first empirical research study into the potential of mothers to recognize early warning signs of radicalization in their sons and the needed tools to respond effectively. This study was supported by the Austrian Fund for Scientific Research.

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