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COMMUNIQUE OF THE ONE DAY SEMINAR ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN TRUST AND TRAUMA HEALING
PROCESSES IN TIMES OF PEACE AND CONFLICTS ORGANISED BY WOMEN’S INTERFAITH COUNCIL ON 18TH
DECEMBER, 2014 AT THE MAIN AUDITORIUM, WOMEN MULTI PURPOSE CENTRE.
A. Preamble:
The Interfaith Forum of Muslim and Christian Women’s Association a.k.a. Women’s Interfaith
Council (WIC) is a coalition of the principal women’s faith-based groups in Kaduna state. The
organization was established in May 2010 with the sole objective of providing a forum for the
leaders and members of Muslim and Christian Women’s faith organizations to work together
in peacebuilding processes in Kaduna state and beyond. In addition, the organization also
aims at addressing women’s specific poverty-related concerns which is considered a major
cause of their vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities suffered by women during violent conflicts
easily subject them to depression and extremely dire traumatic experiences.
In view of this noble visionary thrust, the Interfaith Forum of Muslim and Christian Women’s
Association a.k.a. Women’s Interfaith Council organized a seminar with the theme “The Role
of Women in Trust and Trauma Healing Processes in Times of Peace and Conflicts” on the 18th
day of December, 2014, at the main auditorium of the Women Multipurpose Centre, Kaduna.
B. Objectives:
The specific objectives of the seminar are;

To ascertain among other things the extent to which trauma impacts on women in
conflicts and post conflict times.

To identify the central role that women could play towards mitigating the effects of
trauma on identified victims who are often women and children.

To bring women of faith groups, those in civil society and representatives of the
Nigerian security agencies under one roof for them to discuss and articulate the best
approaches for assisting victims of trauma
C. Attendance:
The Seminar had in attendance, strategic actors from the security sector including the Police,
DSS, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Commission
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(FRSC), the Nigerian Prison, Immigration and the Nigerian Customs Services. Other equally
important participants include the representatives of government’s Ministries, Departments
and Agencies (MDAs); and a broad spectrum of civil society organizations (CSOs); Faith
Based organisations (FBOs) Community Based Organizations (CBOs), traditional and youth
leaders as well as the media. All these participants were seamlessly drawn from a broad
spectrum of diverse class categories of the society cutting across literate and semi literate
individuals.
D. Opening Session:
The programme started at 10: 43 am with an opening prayer which was rendered by an
Islamic adherent. This was followed by the introduction of invited/special guests.
Subsequently, an opening remark was made by the General Coordinator of Women’s
Interfaith Council (WIC), Mrs Comfort Idowu - Fearon. She specifically used the opportunity to
welcome and thank all the participants in attendance. She also reiterated the rationale why
WIC decided to organize the seminar in the face of the current security challenges and its
associated pains it has created for many families and women in particular.
Speaking further, the General Coordinator also gave a concise synopsis of the causes of
trauma amongst women which she ascribes to different incidences of violence, violent
conflicts, natural disasters and other social vices like rape. All these according to her
negatively altering the psyche and mindset of the individuals affected by the phenomenon
of trauma. According to her, it is unfortunate that even thought trauma is increasingly
becoming an aspect of society’s social conditions; many people are of the erroneous view
that it is only the medical practitioners that have the sole monopoly to intervene towards
either prevention or management. The reality however is that it is the duty of every one to be
involved in trauma prevention and management in the event they occur. This is the only
strategy that will help in curbing the rising tide of the incidences of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) that is becoming increasingly evident amongst the most vulnerable
categories in society according.
E.
Goodwill Messages:
Goodwill messages were received from the following strategic stakeholders;
 The Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna.
 Security Agencies including the Police, NSCDC, Operation Yaki, the Road Safety
Commission, the Immigration, Customs and Prison Services.
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



F.
Representative of CAN.
Representative of JNI
Donor Agencies
NGOs / CSOs Present.
Technical Session:
The following papers were presented and discussed at the seminar:

Violence, Trauma and Women: By WIC’s Programme Officer

The Role of Women in Trust and Trauma Healing Processes in Times of Peace and
Conflicts: By DR. Lateef Sheik, Medical Director Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital,
Barnawa, Kaduna; represented by Dr Moh’d Abdulaziz.
G. Observations:
I.
Participants were full of commendation and admiration for the trail blazing role
and visionary leadership that WIC is providing in this challenging moment of
Nigeria’s national life.
II.
Women are indeed vulnerable to the vagaries of violent conflicts as they unfold in
human relations.
III.
The area most affected by the condition of insecurity and insurgency is the north
east region of the Nigerian federation. As a result, hundreds of thousands of
families have been displaced as IDPs and many more transformed into the status
of refugees in Niger, Chad and Cameroun.
IV.
Greed and a covetous mind-set are identified as the core reasons for the outbreak
of violent conflicts in society.
V.
Poor management of trauma conditions in most cases exacerbates the challenge.
VI.
Law enforcement agents are sometimes identified as culpable accomplices due
to their non-prevention of trauma inducing conditions and the poor management
of the same when they occur.
VII.
Weak criminal justice system is a major reason for the perpetration and
perpetuation of the crimes of violence against women which oftentimes
degenerate into depression/trauma.
VIII.
The imagery of women as victims of rape and the assailant (the man) presented
as the ‘superman’ by the media is dominant.
IX.
Different forms of violence exists which results in the traumatization and depressions
of their victims who in most cases are women and their beleaguered children.
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These different forms of violence are identified as, communal clashes, severe
accident experiences, violent armed robbery operations, terrorisms, resource control induced violence, violence against women within the family, multiple rape
against both men and women and so on.
X.
The fact was made bare that poverty as a socio-economic malaise is an important
factor that causes trauma and depression in people within the family and the
society in general.
XI.
Women are victims of domestic violence and this experience often plunges them
to the brink of depression and trauma.
XII.
The inability of some parents to inculcate positive values in their children in most
instances results in the weakening of the capacity of these children to resist the
temptation of falling into negative vices that eventually traumatizes them.
XIII.
Kaduna state and Kaduna metropolis in particular has become an increasingly
divided society because of the incidences of violent conflicts. This condition is
culminating into untold trauma to its citizenry.
XIV.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is increasingly becoming common amongst
people that are directly and indirectly affected by experiences that stimulate
depression and trauma.
XV.
There is a causal relationship between violent conflicts and the experience of
trauma and depression.
XVI.
It was observed that to enjoy peace and stability in civil society, there is need to
ensure that justice is made a core theme in society’s overall relations
encompassing different faith groups. This is the antidote to the psycho/physical
trauma plaguing a large portion of people in conflict and post conflict
environment.
XVII.
The organic cohesion that previously held the different religious faith traditions
have been diluted by selfish politicians hence the social friction currently
characterizing individual and group relation in society. This is a major cause of
religious violence with its attendant inducement of traumatizing conditions. It is
therefore recommended that the interfaith movement be sustained with a view to
re-enacting the pristine traditional cooperative values that previously succeeded
in keeping society in peace.
XVIII. Poorly managed conditions of trauma could result in greater devastation to the
individual and the society in general. This condition could further culminate in the
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impairment of a cohesive and virile community life with the effect for physically
and psychologically destroying the victims and the human society as a whole.
XIX.
Poverty is identified as an important cause of trauma amongst people in the
society. It the government is to contribute its quota in the mitigation of trauma and
depression, it is important that it addresses the fundamental issue of poverty
alleviation.
H. Experience Sharing Session:
During the seminar, opportunities were given to some of the participants to share their
experiences of what it means undergoing a traumatic condition. Three participants shared
their experiences which have been captured below:
The first testifier gave the experience regarding the loss of intimate family members resulting
from the insurgency and terrorist onslaught currently ravaging the north eastern part of the
country and how this has affected her and other family members both physically and
psychologically and for which most of them have not been able to recover from.
The second person (a pastor and Counselor), reported the case of a family that was
attacked by an armed robbery gang. The head of this family was made to have sex with his
eldest daughter and this heinous criminal experience permanently altered the bliss the family
had always enjoyed.
The third person shared the experience of the bereavement of an brother who was the major
bread winner for the family. While they were returning from the funeral of the deceased
brother (in far away eastern Nigeria), another brother together with his wife were involved in
a ghastly auto crash which claimed their lives. So in the space of about one month, three
family members who were her closed confidants were dead. According to the testifier, this
affected her negatively that she hardly concentrates on what she is doing.
I.
Suggestions:
The following suggestions were offered during the seminar:
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I.
It was suggested that beyond conflict/trauma management, it is equally vital to
deeply explore the urgency for identifying the best mechanism for conflict
prevention. Once violent conflicts and other trauma/depression inducing elements
are checked, then the need for management and healing will become greatly
minimized. This is a classic case of “prevention is better than cure”.
II.
It has been confirmed that community associations are central if the entire
menace(s) that culminate in trauma are to be checked.
For instance these
Community Based Organisations (CBOs) have the capacity for controlling the
excesses that result from deviant behaviors like drug addiction within communities
and their negative implications.
III.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) should strike a virile partnership with the security
sector towards mitigating the extreme conditions of depression amongst victims of
trauma and depression. This could be achieved through ensuring that the right
legislations are enacted and proper punishment meted against culprit that are
responsible for stimulating trauma.
IV.
Trauma is an absolute condition with its capacity for devastating the human
psyche. This devastation has been ascertained as a demoralizing force in the drive
towards sustainable human developments. Trauma is known to results in teenage
pregnancy, adolescent drug abuse, school failure and anti social behavior. All
these are important impediments to the engine of national development and an
enhanced human capacity. It was thus recommended that government must be
proactive in ensuring that the institutions responsible for managing these anti social
behaviors are strengthened towards ameliorating the challenges.
V.
Violent conflicts that are a major cause of traumatizing conditions are clearly the
result of lack of knowledge and sufficient education. If this is to be mitigated, it is
imperative that the youths be inculcated with a much needed functional social
conditioning through civic education.
An education that will expose the
manipulating nature that youths are exposed to by the entrepreneurs of violence.
VI.
Other forms of violence abound; battery, violent armed robbery operations,
terrorism, rape and community violence are all classical causes of depression and
trauma. It is advocated that strategic stakeholders must proactively harmonize
their strategies towards curbing the menace. An important instrument for
achieving this is through healing and the creation of an environment of trust. It was
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confirmed that individuals, the family unit and communities could provide succor,
healing and an atmosphere of trust to the victims of trauma.
VII.
Religious education has a major role to play in trauma management, hence the
urgent need to emphasize this in the national curriculum agenda. In addition, it
was further recommended that the victims of depressing phenomenon must be
given/shown attentions of empathy and love as they narrate their stories of woes.
Religious leaders are advised to sooth the pains that victims exude during these
narration processes. When extreme conditions in the form of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorders (PTSDs) are noticed, the victims must be urgently referred to a medical
doctor or other experts in the field of trauma management.
VIII.
It has been asserted that if the issues of trauma amongst traumatized individuals
and groups are to be properly addressed, it is imperative that the youths, widows
and their orphans must be deliberately identified and economically empowered if
the healing process is to be absolute. The classical case of the victims of violent
conflict in the north east was brought to the fore.
IX.
It was concluded that the initial point for administering the healing dose on the
traumatized in the society should naturally begin with a demonstration of love to
the victims of violent conflicts, natural disasters and social conditioning like rape
and other forms of abuses. An important strategy for achieving this could be
through ensuring that these victims are befriended and kept in constant company
so that they do not tilt over the psychological precipice. Unfortunately, it has been
observed that the traumatized in human society are left as powerless people,
subsisting outside the realm of normal human experience.
J.
Conclusion:
The participants expressed appreciation to the Interfaith Forum of Muslim and Christian
Women’s Association a.k.a. Women’s Interfaith Council (WIC) for translating their endowed
insight and vision into organizing this sensitization seminar because of its highly impacting
influence on the participants particularly and the seminar’s potential prospect of impacting
the entire women in Kaduna state and the nation as a whole. Furthermore, during the vote of
thanks, Reverend Sister Felicia Dunka, the OLA representative at WIC specifically
appreciated the resource persons, the members of the security agencies in attendance, the
traditional rulers, the media, the CSOs and their wide networks of NGOs and every
participant in attendance for the roles they played towards the success of the seminar.
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Closing prayer: The closing prayer was said by a Christian around 2: 00 PM. This marked the
end of the day’s proceedings.
Done this day Thursday 18th December, 2014, Kaduna; Nigeria.
Signed: