This study explores how women’s perceptions of safety is impacted by participating in a program aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE). The theoretical framework mainly draws on literature on women and conflict prevention, sacred values and human security studies. In combining theoretical arguments from these fields, I hypothesize that women’s perception of safety will be negatively impacted by participating in PVE-programs. That is because their participation will challenge sacred gender norms by taking up leadership roles in the community that usually belong to men. As a result, hostile reactions from community members will follow, i.e. from those whose sacred values are challenged, which in turn is expected to impact women’s perception of safety negatively. This thesis applies qualitative methods and to compare between two groups of women who participate in a PVE-program through different roles, and one group of non-PVE-participating women. Semi-structured interviews were held with two PVE-participating groups (female religious leaders and female economic leaders) as well as with non-PVE-participating women in Indonesia. The purpose of this case selection is twofold. First, to examine whether the PVE-participation in itself has an effect on women’s perceptions of safety. Second, to explore whether to explore whether certain roles that women take in a PVE-program challenge sacred gender norms more than others, and as such, leads to more negative perceptions of safety. The results indicate that PVE-participants challenge sacred norms, however, these norms do not always have a gendered underpinning, but are more religious in nature than anticipated. Contrary to my hypotheses, women’s perception of safety is not necessarily negatively impacted by participating in PVE-programs. The results rather indicate that women’s perception of safety can be both positively and negatively impacted by their participation, mainly depending on how their participation is understood by others. Additionally, PVE-participating women mainly challenge gender norms before they begin their participation, instead of during its active phase. As such, the results suggest that time aspects are important to fully understand women’s perception of safety.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine psychological processes that can contribute to religiously motivated violence from a psychology of religion perspective in relation to the collective meaning-system of the Christian militant anti-abortion movement the Army of God. The study applied a single-case design and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 3 prominent figures within Army of God, as well as through 43 qualitative documents and 4 autobiographical books. The collected data was analyzed through a deductive approach, implementing the concept of sanctification, social identity theory, selective moral disengagement, and the Staircase to Terrorism model. The results show that the collective meaning-system of the Army of God can be understood as a form of religious fundamentalism that acts as a frame that binds the members together, and from which social categorization and group identification can induce acts of violence. The results also demonstrate that abortion is perceived as a grave injustice and destruction of something sacred, and how it leads to a moral outrage and aggression by constituting a threat towards one’s social identity. This threat moves the individuals towards a ‘black-and-white’ and ‘the ends justify the means’ mentality. The act of violence is further prompted by a perceived duty from God and facilitated by a dehumanization of the perceived enemy. The findings of the study address the need of primary empirical data in the psychological research of violent extremism. Furthermore, it brings further knowledge regarding religiously motivated violence and leaderless resistance by taking into account the search for significance and sacred values. In contrast to previous research the current study also demonstrates that a leader or a well-structured group is not necessarily a key factor when explaining religiously motivated violence from a social psychological perspective. This can contribute to the theoretical understanding regarding social identity and a collective meaning-making in relation to violent extremism and lone-wolf terrorism.