This report features the experiences of girls and boys formerly associated with the Boko Haram factions – their entry and exit trajectories and post-exit needs, challenges and aspirations, including as narrated by the children themselves. The findings are informed by a multi-method study in the North East of Nigeria that included a participatory photography and action research intervention with 16 conflict-affected children in April 2024. Some of the children had left the Boko Haram factions years ago while others exited just months ago.
In addition to working with this group, the report also pulls from additional focus group discussions with 99 participants (45 women and girls and 44 men and boys) between April and May 2024, as well as data collected through a 3,640-person phone survey conducted between April and July 2024. Ultimately, the goal of this report, and the accompanying photography series and video, is to elevate the voices of girls and boys formerly associated with Boko Haram in policy and programmatic discussions to ensure that their perspectives are reflected in resulting interventions aimed at supporting their transitions to civilian life.
Citation: Kato Van Broeckhoven, Anamika Madhuraj, Francesca Batault, Jessica Caus, Fatima Ajimi Badu, Mohammed Bukar, Siobhan O’Neil, "Picturing Conflict: Child Perspectives From Their Time With Boko Haram and Their Exit Journeys,” UNIDIR, Geneva, 2024, https://doi.org/10.37559/MEAC/24/08.