Women peacebuilders share how they navigate psychosocial risks and how a "Do No Harm" approach can safeguard their protection and participation.

Towards safer engagement with women peacebuilders

This International Women’s Day, we highlight a vital but often overlooked connection: the link between women’s participation in peace processes and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Women peacebuilders play a crucial role in dialogue, reconciliation and community healing – yet their work comes at a personal cost. They frequently face stigma, intimidation, retraumatisation and security risks.

As the recent escalation in the Middle East and violent conflicts worldwide continue to devastate communities and futures, supporting the wellbeing of women peacebuilders is more urgent than ever.

In conversations with practitioners from Myanmar, Lebanon, Colombia and beyond, we explore the challenges women encounter in peace processes and how programmes can better safeguard their wellbeing. Their insights show that a true “Do No Harm” approach goes beyond mitigating risk. It requires strategies designed with women, grounded in their lived realities that addresses structural inequalities, including the unequal burden of unpaid care work.

Watch the videos to hear their reflections:

Our Executive Director Chris Coulter emphasises the need to put the wellbeing and protection of women at the centre of peace efforts to ensure their leadership can be exercised safely and effectively. 

Fatima Hamiye is a peacebuilder who works with our colleagues in Lebanon and she sheds light on the need for women to take part in dialogue programmes that allow space for discussing how the war is affecting them mentally. 

Agnes Mary, who is a MHPSS Specialist at Serenity Counselling and Mental Health Services in Myanmar, acknowledges how women peacebuilders often face threats, harassment and violence in their environments due to deep-seated gender norms. 

Erika Ramirez speaks about her work with women ex-combantants with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the benefits of their community care systems in Colombia. 

To view all of the statements, click here.

At our event marking International Women’s Day, experts identified early warning signs of psychosocial strains in peacebuilding work, the risks women peacebuilders face in patriarchal or repressive environments and how “Do No Harm” approaches can be operationalised throughout the project cycle.

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