About this research project
Mental Health of Young Women Peace Practitioners in Nairobi: Who heals the healers? Experiences of young Kenyan women peace practitioners
In a bid to promote a peaceful society, free from violent extremism and all forms of violence, young women peace efforts have been greeted with physical assaults and other forms of abuses, capable of affecting them mentally. This is besides listening to violent stories and watching violence real time.
In this project, Regina assesses the impact of peace work on the mental health of young women peace practitioners in Nairobi County, Kenya. She finds out that indeed, the young women are impacted both positively and negatively and the impact has affected their work productivity. For instance, some have sleepless nights remembering the violent experiences witnessed during peace work.
She then suggests several recommendations to various stakeholders for action especially on the negative impact. Some of the recommendations include establishing a mental health support infrastructure for employees.
“I engaged in this particular project because I feel overwhelmed with peace work. While engaging some of my colleagues I realized they are overwhelmed too. I decided to do this particular research in a bid to find solutions not only for me nor young women peace actors but for many peace actors in Kenya and beyond.”
– Regina Mutiru Mwendwa, Researcher
Read the full paper below
