Field of work: Women, Peace and Security
During conflict, women keep markets open, families fed and dialogue alive across dividing lines. RFLD works to turn that everyday authority into a formal role in prevention, mediation and recovery, and to make sure survivors of conflict-related sexual violence receive care and justice.
Women’s organisations are often the first to see tension rising and the last to leave when it turns violent. RFLD’s value is the connection it makes between them and the institutions that decide on peace.
Member organisations work in the Sahel, the coastal states and border areas where tension builds, and are trusted by the women who live there.
Observer Status with the African Commission and a seat in the Support Group on Human Rights Defenders carry community evidence to Banjul.
Referral for defenders at risk, digital safety protocols and a legal toolkit on online harassment, all in use across the network.
Annual research on women human rights defenders and a 2026 policy brief on young women defenders in West Africa and the Sahel.
The framework
Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, was the first Security Council resolution to require parties to conflict to protect women’s rights and support their participation in peace negotiations. In Africa, the Maputo Protocol goes further: Article 10 guarantees women’s right to a peaceful existence and to take part in promoting peace, and Article 11 requires their protection in armed conflict.
RFLD works with governments and civil society so that National Action Plans on WPS come with budget lines, responsible institutions and local plans.
Stopping conflict and gender-based violence before they start, through early warning and dialogue.
Safeguarding women’s safety and rights during crises, including defenders and survivors.
Women at the negotiating table and in the institutions that follow a settlement.
Humanitarian response and reconstruction designed with and for women.
RFLD trains women in negotiation, conflict analysis and shuttle diplomacy, and connects them across borders. Women are often the ones who can still cross front lines, and they tend to prioritise long-term community cohesion, from disputes over water in the Sahel to local political deadlock.
Women notice early signs of conflict: a shift in market prices, the movement of young men, hateful speech. RFLD supports community systems where women report these signs so that local authorities can respond before violence breaks out.
Sexual violence is used in conflict to terrorise and displace communities. RFLD supports documentation for prosecution and links survivors to care through members and specialist partners.
Truth commissions and reparations programmes that deal with gendered crimes, where women can testify safely and female heads of household and survivors are prioritised.
Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration that recognise women combatants, support women associated with armed groups who face stigma on return, and prepare communities through dialogue.
Mothers and sisters are often first to notice radicalisation. RFLD engages women as partners and addresses root causes such as lack of economic opportunity and political exclusion.
Training police and military personnel in human rights, response to gender-based violence and protection of civilians, and advocacy for recruiting and promoting more women in the security sector.
Mental health and psychosocial support built into peacebuilding, with peace circles where communities grieve together and rebuild trust.
Under Resolution 2250, RFLD links experienced women peacebuilders with young activists, supports youth-led tools such as hate-speech monitoring and pushes for young people’s place in formal peace processes.
Conflict crosses borders and so must peace. RFLD supports cross-border dialogue between women traders and community leaders in the Sahel and the Mano River region, engages with peace operations on the effectiveness of their civilian protection mandates, and promotes unarmed civilian protection, in which communities protect themselves through non-violent presence and strategy.
What investment makes possible
Each starts from women and organisations already doing this work. Investment gives them reach, protection and a formal place at the table.
Trained women mediators connected across borders and to formal peace processes.
A survivor-centred route from first contact to recovery and accountability.
WPS plans that exist in law and in the budget.
Community monitors who spot and report the first signs of violence.
Security in Africa has changed. Wars between states have given way to insurgencies, violent extremism and conflicts within borders, and responses that rely only on military force have struggled. Peace that lasts needs human security: freedom from fear and freedom from want.
The evidence on women’s participation is strong. When women help shape an agreement, it tends to address the causes of conflict, such as inequality and competition over land and water, and it tends to last longer. Resolution 1325, the Maputo Protocol and the AU’s framework on Women, Peace and Security already give African states the mandate. RFLD’s contribution is to make that mandate real in the communities where peace is won or lost.
Ways to invest
Every route below reaches women-led organisations through RFLD’s audited systems, with reporting in English or French.
From US$500,000Multi-year, one field of work
Carry one or more of the opportunities on this page through a full programme cycle, with a shared results framework.
From US$2 millionCore support for re-granting
Move flexible grants to grassroots organisations in 15 West African countries, including Urgent Action support decided within 5 business days.
US$5 million and aboveAcross all fields of work
Back the whole network: the six fields of work, twelve open-data tools and the systems that hold them together.
Organisational profile 2026 · Profil institutionnel 2026
A pan-African feminist network of 670 member organisations in 35+ countries, with audited accounts, ACHPR Observer Status and NGOsource 501(c)(3) equivalency. Share the version that fits your board, your due diligence or your newsroom.
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For partnerships, programme collaboration, research, member organisation enquiries or donor due diligence.
Africa Director and Founder
Institutional funders and strategic partnerships.
agueh.dossi@rflgd.orgDirector of Strategy & Development
Partnership design and co-created programmes.
gbenagnon.john@rflgd.orgProgramme enquiries
Member collaboration, research and technical questions.
programs@rflgd.orgSafeguarding and integrity
Sensitive concerns handled confidentially.
integrity@rflgd.org