Peacebuilding

Reconciling divided communities

Tearfund equips communities to work together across divides to resolve conflict peacefully. We support faith groups and local communities, placing a strong emphasis on championing the role of women and youth. Through integrated programming, we address both the effects and systemic causes of violent conflict. This collaborative work helps bring lasting peace to society.

What is Tearfund’s peacebuilding strategy?

Tearfund recognises the vital role of local peacebuilders affected by the reality of violent conflict and with an ongoing presence in the area. We therefore identify, equip, nurture and connect peacebuilders as enduring changemakers.

We build the capacity of these trusted civic and faith influencers as active agents of change, connecting them into mutually supporting networks of locally-led peacebuilders. Simultaneously, as a multi-mandate NGO, we respond to immediate needs, address conflict drivers and build local capacities for peace through our integrated nexus programming.

We de-risk funding investments in fragile contexts through three core delivery methodologies:

• Addressing structural drivers of fragility: Through our integrated programming, we target the root causes of systemic vulnerability, mitigate the grievances that fuel violence, prioritising localised resilience, community-led resource management, and the restoration of intercommunal trust.
• Building the capacity of local mediator networks: We identify, equip, and connect local civic peacebuilders, enabling them to construct robust, coordinated networks capable of leading mediation processes at local, regional, and national levels long after individual funded programmes cease.
• Mobilising civic faith infrastructure: We build the technical capacity of community-embedded faith institutions, transforming these permanent local structures into active, trusted hubs for peacebuilding, early warning systems, and civic mediation.

Addressing sexual and gender-based violence in crisis settings

While vulnerabilities to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) are often deeply embedded within communities prior to a crisis, the risks of systemic exposure and targeted exploitation escalate dramatically during and after violent emergencies.

In situations of active armed conflict, sexual violence is frequently weaponised to destabilise communities, requiring immediate, specialised, and highly coordinated protection interventions.