New Center Publication Highlights Work with Boko Haram Refugees in Nigeria

In Nigeria, millions of women have been harmed by the decades-long Boko Haram insurgency. They have lost their homes, loved ones, and suffered layers of abuse, violence, and trauma from this ongoing conflict, which first began in 2009.

In a new publication, Accounting for Resiliency and Abuse in Nigeria, the Center for Reproductive Rights details the impact of the Boko Haram conflict on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls in Nigeria. It also highlights Center’s longtime work in Nigeria’s conflict areas, work that includes movement building, research, legal accountability measures, and advocating on behalf of those affected by the conflict. This publication follows the Center’s recent fact-finding report, which presented key learnings from its work in the Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Abuja.

Since 2017, Onyema Afulukwe, the Center’s Senior Counsel for Africa, has interviewed more than 250 women and girls who have experienced conflict-related sexual and reproductive health and rights violations. The accounts she has witnessed and documented are helping the Center and its local partners to lay the foundation for meaningful change

“These women and girls went through unspeakable experiences,” Afulukwe said. “I feel a deep need to ensure that their stories are told and their voices are heard.”

Read their stories and learn more about the Center’s work in Nigerian conflict zones here.