Support female survivors of Boko Haram in Nigeria

Greetings from International Alert Nigeria

Since our last update, several coups and violent outbreaks have unsettled the West Africa region, including in Niger, where the international community is pulling out embassy staff and troops and cutting off its aid in response to the military takeover. This has an immediate impact on the citizens of Niger, increasing tensions and root causes of conflict, which trickle over into neighboring countries including Nigeria.

International Alert Nigeria has continued to work with communities in the north-east of the country to improve their security and reduce incidences of violent conflict, particularly those targeting women and girls. In addition to ongoing peacebuilding dialogues and support to small businesses, two new activities were implemented.

The first was a weekly local radio show to promote awareness and understanding of women and girls' roles in peace and security, decision-making, and combating sexual and gender-based violence.

Radios are an effective method to transmit information in Nigeria and are commonly found in homes, shops and public transport, they can reach inaccessible communities and do not require listeners to read a notice or disrupt their day to engage with the information.

By presenting compelling stories, real-life examples and expert insights, the radio shows help to influence attitudes and behaviors at home and in the community. They help to challenge harmful stereotypes and promote more inclusive and gender-equitable practices.

Live phone-in segments and interactive features encourage community members to actively participate, ask questions and share their experiences. This fosters a sense of ownership and community engagement in addressing these issues.

As a result, communities are beginning to develop their own solutions and initiatives to address gender-based issues and contribute to local peacebuilding efforts. Over time, sustained radio programming can contribute to a cultural shift in how gender issues are perceived and addressed within communities, leading to lasting change.

The second activity was a series of strategic dialogue sessions between community members, security agencies and local authorities to promote human rights, inclusivity and accountability in security agencies while addressing existing and emerging security challenges in Nigeria.

As a result of the meetings, the security agencies agreed to ensure the protection of human rights in their operations and agreed to greater accountability, transparency and increased training to prevent and address human rights violations.

Attendees agreed that working together was the best way to ensure security for citizens with a particular focus on including marginalized groups such as women, youth, and vulnerable populations in planning and consultations.

The groups committed to developing training on inclusive participation and accountability mechanisms to ensure that security actions respond to the needs of the communities they serve.

Together, these activities work to address security issues by changing the perceptions and actions of people at all levels of society: from government and police force, the private sector, to the local community.

These dialogues and small changes in behavior have a real impact on the lives of women and girls in Nigeria and help to make progressive changes to community perceptions and security actors’ actions to ensure their safety and security.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to sharing more news from Nigeria with you soon.

Yours in peace,

Ollie James

International Alert