More than half of the world’s over 50 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women and girls. In Nigeria, over 2 million IDPs have been forced from their homes in the last decade by terrorism, communal clashes, and armed banditry.

This has led to the creation of IDP camps in various parts of the country. In addition to the human rights violations faced by all IDPs, displaced women and girls are often at greater risk. Not only because conflict exacerbates pre-crisis patterns of discrimination, but it also exposes women and girls to gender-based violence and prevents them from accessing sexual and reproductive health services.

The Wassa camp in Abuja hosts over 7,000 IDPs. About 70 percent are children and young women of reproductive age. Here, women IDPs lack access to essential health services like contraceptives, antenatal care, safe delivery services, and postpartum care. Sexual activity within the camp leads to sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, for which there is also little recourse. Limited access to safe abortion forces women, especially the young, to use unsafe methods that endanger their lives.

Stand with a girl

To improve the situation, Stand With A Girl Initiative (SWAG), a youth-led community organization under our We Lead program, has been raising awareness since 2021 among the women and girls in Wassa and educating camp leaders, religious and traditional leaders, household heads, and young men about the sexual and reproductive health needs and rights of women and girls.

“Before SWAG Initiative’s presence in the camp, gender-based violence was very prevalent. We used to record cases of women being battered by their husbands for not wearing their hijabs correctly. However, these cases have now been drastically reduced because the men are aware of the organization’s actions towards GBV. Many women like myself have also been trained to speak up and report cases of GBV in the camp, so we continue to advocate to put an end to it.”

Hamsatu Haman, woman leader at camp Wassa

Special sensitization strategy

The initiative has reached over 3,500 women and girls through an innovative strategy in which women IDPs engage in role plays and dramatizations to depict their realities. The process has been used for raising awareness on maternal and infant mortality, providing information on family planning, improving knowledge of menstrual hygiene management, and creating awareness on sexual and gender-based violence. In safe spaces, the initiative trains young girls in assertiveness, negotiation, life skills and other valuable skills for healthy living in the IDP camp. The initiative has also helped over 200 women become camp SRHR ambassadors on childbirth, maternal care, menstrual hygiene management, and family planning.

“When We Lead started, we were all excited when we saw women who needed this support, especially young ones and girls, access SRH information and services. The knowledge they have received will help them continue to access these services without any limitations.”

Ethel Oseghale, SWAG Project Coordinator

This special sensitization was really necessary to help women misinformed by myths and taboos gain factual knowledge about family planning and the use of contraceptives. Before the sensitization, many women in Wassa used herbal mixtures and other crude methods of contraception. The strategy has so far reached over 800 households in the camp and has really changed minds.

“I’m glad that the SWAG Initiative selected and trained me on basic skills such as advocacy skills, communication skills, and other Sexual and Reproductive Health information. This has empowered me to teach the girls in my safe space about their bodies and it has also helped me to know more about my body health”.

Cenje Yohanna, mentor at the SWAG Safe Spaces for girls aged 10 to 11

Women in charge of their SRH; men and boys not forgotten

We Lead puts young women and girls in charge of prioritizing their own sexual and reproductive health and rights. At Wassa IDP camp, this takes the form of training young women and girls as peer educators, especially to debunk myths about contraceptives among their sexually active peers. As a result, the more shy among them can get reliable information about reproductive health from their peers.

“Before now, I didn’t know what the word advocacy meant. But now, I have learned how to effectively communicate with others and I can advocate the government on things that affect me as an internally displaced person in Wassa Camp”.

Amina Abubakar (15 years old)

SWAG also works with men and boys to ensure that they understand the point of the initiative and how positively it affects the overall health of their wives, sisters, mothers, and aunties, as well as the family at large. Sensitive topics such as marital rape and domestic abuse are always discussed.

“We strongly believe that the inclusion of young women and girls under 35 has meaningfully contributed to the overall sustainability of the project. Including young people in the camp at every step of the project’s life cycle has given them an in-depth understanding of the project and greatly enhanced their advocacy skills.

Ethel Oseghale, SWAG Project Coordinator

Post first appeared on Hivos https://hivos.org/