In Northeast Nigeria, violence against women and girls has become increasingly severe and widespread. The insurgency which started in 2015 has led to the displacement of more than two million people, with women and girls subjected to physical, mental and sexual assault as well as forced and early marriage. Across the entire country, approximately 1.4 million people need gender-based violence-related assistance. But a weak gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response system, and a complex web of service providers, mean women and girls are often left struggling to find the support they need.
CARE is working with partners in Northeast Nigeria to strengthen the gender-based violence protection and health services offered to survivors, including sexual reproductive health services, mental health and psychosocial support. The STEPSERN project is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and aims to reach 37,500 women and girls. It will also increase women’s participation in the humanitarian response cycle through a locally led Women Lead in Emergencies approach which ensures their needs and expertise are accounted for in decision making.
What is Women Lead in Emergencies?
I am a woman, and I can be whatever I want to be, to bring change in society.” - Women Lead in Emergencies group member
CARE's Women Lead in Emergencies approach is a women's leadership initiative that shifts power and resources directly to women in communities affected by crisis and supports them to overcome barriers to their participation in humanitarian decision-making.
Women Lead does not prescribe what ‘success’ looks like, but instead asks women to define what they want to see from the programme. This means women can choose to focus on what matters most to them. CARE’s Women Lead in Emergencies teams and partners support them to achieve those goals.
Education as a tool to combat violence against women and girls
As part of the Women Lead in Emergencies approach, women form groups and collectively identify what they need from gender-based violence services. Together, they explore how they can play a meaningful role in shaping the response to ensure this change happens. They establish what barriers are preventing them from participating in violence prevention and response, and create action plans to overcome these.
Illiteracy is often cited by the groups as a major barrier to participating in decision-making and speaking at public events. Groups often choose to focus on strengthening their literacy skills to foster the confidence needed to participate in decision-making.
For one Women Lead in Emergencies group in Northeast Nigeria, education has become a cornerstone of their activities. Through informal education and skills development, they have made it their mission to raise the voice and leadership of women and girls who have left school early. This is critical in Nigeria, where just 51% of girls complete primary school education, dropping to 36% at secondary level. Education – or lack thereof – impacts on nearly every facet of a girl’s life, with consequences for health, poverty, early marriage and gender-based violence.
Creating a safe environment to foster new skills and confidence
This particular Women Lead in Emergencies group works with girls aged 12-15 years, who have been forced to drop out of school for financial reasons. The group has created a safe environment for learning different types of skills, including adult education classes; literacy classes for young girls; vocational training, and baking and tailoring classes. Adult education classes provide spaces for women to acquire knowledge around different skills, alongside issues like gender-based violence sexual health, and education for young girls.
Hannatu Mam Joushua, who leads the group, talks about how she has used the approach to develop her self-confidence, and overcome challenges she experienced in raising her voice: ‘’I found it difficult to express myself or speak in front of a large group of people. I would shy away from challenging situations and isolate myself from public speaking. But since I joined the group, it has expanded my horizons, exposed me to amazing and challenging events, and connected me and other women to important community spaces.”
