Women in Peace Building – Initiative for Human Rights and Gender Awareness

WOMEN IN PEACE BUILDING (Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD)

This thematic area centers women and youth as critical peace actors, providing safe, neutral spaces for communities to address grievances, rebuild trust, and resolve conflicts without violence.

IHGRA’s peacebuilding work focuses on strengthening social cohesion and preventing violence in conflict-affected and displacement-prone communities in Benue State through Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD).
Through women-led inter-community dialogues in IDP-affected areas such as Utange and Tombo communities in Nyiar, IHGRA-supported dialogue processes have contributed to significant transformation.
IHGRA has also applied RSD to youth and inter-ethnic conflicts, including dialogue engagements between Jukun and Hausa motorcycle riders following an incident that escalated ethnic tension.
In dialogues involving farmers, youth, and livestock guards, RSD has provided a platform to engage constructively on the impacts of the Anti-Open Grazing Law.

Women reported improved relationships across divided communities, increased cooperation in farming activities, peaceful agreements on boundary demarcations, and a marked reduction in fear.
Communities that were once hostile now freely interact, support one another during crises, and address disputes through dialogue rather than violence.
These conversations enabled communities to share feedback on enforcement practices, address concerns around cattle impoundment and youth involvement in cattle theft, and strengthen communication between community members and livestock authorities.
Dialogue has helped reduce misinformation, improve feedback mechanisms, and reinforce the importance of continued engagement to prevent retaliatory violence.