Brides of ISIS: The Internet Seduction of Western Females into ISIS

by | Feb 12, 2017

Event Details

Roundtable Lunch Discussion

Brides of ISIS: The Internet Seduction of Western Females into ISIS

with Dr. Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism

Thursday, 16 March 2017 at 12:30- 14:00

Dialogue Platform, Rue Montoyer 31, Brussels 1000

Light lunch will be served between 12:00-12:30

The so-called Islamic State and self proclaimed Caliphate has indeed managed to seduce thousands of young men and women from Europe, the U.S., Canada and other Western countries into its ranks. Of these, it is believed that roughly ten percent are female. And they are increasingly lured into ISIS, not only by men urging them to join and even proposing marriage, but also by their female cadres who call to them over social media and instant messaging. The percentage of French females joining ISIS is believed to be one of the highest in the West—at almost twenty percent.

This presentation by a researcher who has interviewed over 500 terrorists, their family members and close associates answers the following questions:

  • Why do Western women join ISIS?
  • How does ISIS manage to lure Western women into its ranks?
  • What are the promises that ISIS makes to them during recruitment?
  • Are ISIS women being equipped for suicide missions?
  • Is it an organisation that serves the needs of these women or abuses them?
  • If females want to get out ,what is the pathway for escape and is it harder for females to defect from ISIS?
  • How should we be treating female returnees—prison, freedom, rehabilitation, reintegration?

About the speaker 

Dr. Anne Speckhard is Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, Georgetown University, and Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE). Dr. Speckhard has been working in the field of counter-terrorism and psychology since the 1980’s and has extensive experience working in Europe, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Dr. Speckhard has interviewed over 500 terrorists, their family members and supporters in various parts of the world including Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Gaza, West Bank, Chechnya, and many countries in Western Europe. In 2007, she was responsible for designing the psychological and Islamic challenge aspects of the Detainee Rehabilitation Program in Iraq to be applied to 20,000 + detainees and 800 juveniles.  She is a sought after counter-terrorism expert and has consulted to NATO, OSCE, foreign governments and to the U.S. Senate & House, Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, CIA and FBI and frequently appearing on CNN, BBC, NPR, Fox News, MSNBC, CTV, and in Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, London Times and many other publications. She frequently lectures on subjects related to her books and research.   She is the author of seven books, including Talking to Terrorists and Bride of ISIS, as well as co-author of Undercover Jihadi and scores of articles.

Register online https://goo.gl/forms/ubD7BZkgzOavwesT2 .