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Women Peacebuilder's Network - WOPEN

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Women Peacebuilder's Network - WOPEN

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The Women Peacebuilders Network (WOPEN) is a non-partisan, association of female activist and civil

15/09/2026

THE CONFLICT IS BIGGER THAN THE CASE.

They had the case.
They had their mediation experience.
Now, they had to look at it differently.

During a practical session on Conflict Analysis and Actor Mapping, participants went back to cases they had previously mediated and, in groups, selected one to unpack.

This time, the focus was not only on the people directly involved.

They began asking:

Who else has a stake in this situation? Who has influence? Who can help? Who could make things more difficult? What connects these actors, and what keeps them apart?

As they mapped the actors, their relationships, connecting and disconnecting factors, the case began to look different.

That is the value of actor mapping. It helps mediators move beyond what is immediately visible and understand the people, relationships, interests and influence surrounding a conflict.

Because sometimes, resolving a conflict is not just about bringing the two sides together.

It is about understanding the wider picture before deciding where, how and with whom to engage.

And this time, the women were not working with a case from a textbook.

They were learning from cases they had actually mediated.

Good mediation begins with seeing the whole picture.

Strengthening Women’s Leadership in Community Mediation.

15/09/2026

BEFORE YOU MEDIATE, LOOK CLOSER. WOMEN LEADERSHIP TRAINING

Around the tables, the conversations began with a simple challenge: look closer at what sits beneath a conflict.

Who is affected? Who gets heard? Who participates? And whose concerns might be overlooked?

In their small groups, the women shared perspectives as they explored gender-sensitive conflict analysis and how understanding a conflict more fully can shape the way we approach mediation and peacebuilding.

The conversation then moved to something we use every day: communication. How we listen. How we respond. The words we choose. And how the way we communicate can either open the door to dialogue or quietly close it.

There were different experiences, different perspectives, and plenty to learn from one another.

Because sometimes, resolving conflict starts long before the mediation itself, with taking the time to understand what is really happening and creating space for people to be heard.

14/09/2026

21 WOMEN. 2 DIVISIONS. REAL STORIES FROM COMMUNITY MEDIATION.

From Mezam and Bui, 21 women brought their mediation experiences into one room.

For Cohort 1 of the Women’s Leadership Training under the Gender Responsive Mediation and GBV Project - Phase 2, the conversation moved from GBV Case Management to Community Mediation and Leadership.

And this time, the women were not starting from theory.
They were starting from experience.

Already active in community dialogue structures, they shared stories from the field; mediating family and marital disputes, school-related conflicts, financial disagreements, farmer-grazer conflicts, and many other community-level disputes.

They talked about the collaborations that made their work possible, the approaches that worked, and the challenges that sometimes made mediation difficult.

It was a space to listen, learn from one another, and reflect on what it really means to mediate conflict within a community.

They were not simply revisiting mediation principles. They were putting their own experiences on the table; and that became the starting point for the next chapter of the training: strengthening women’s leadership in community mediation.

13/09/2026

WHEN A CASE IS RECEIVED, HOW IS IT PROTECTED?

When someone comes forward to report GBV, they are trusting the person receiving the case with something deeply personal.

That trust should not end when the conversation ends. It should continue in the way the information is recorded, stored and handled.

During a GBV Case Management session, Cohort 1 Community Women Leaders got practical on an important part of confidentiality: case and incident coding.

They learned that different codes serve different purposes:

🔹 Client Code - helps identify the survivor in case documentation while reducing unnecessary use of her name.

🔹 Incident ID - a unique identifier for a particular incident, helping distinguish one incident from another.

🔹 Staff Code - identifies the case worker handling the case, while limiting unnecessary use of the staff member’s full name.

To make this easier for participants to apply, the trainer demonstrated a simplified coding approach for the training.

For the client code, participants practiced using a serial number, community initials, the client’s initials and the last two digits of the year.

For the staff code, they practiced using a serial number, community initials, the case worker’s initials and the last two digits of the year.
But the exercise was about more than memorising codes.

It was about asking a bigger question:

Who needs to know what, and how do we keep that information safe?

Confidentiality also means thinking about where records are stored, who can access them and for what purpose, how sensitive documents are secured, and how information can be protected when circumstances become unsafe.

Because a survivor’s information is not just paperwork.

It is personal.
It is sensitive.
And it carries responsibility.

For Cohort 1, learning to code cases was therefore not just a documentation exercise. It was another practical step toward providing support with care, confidentiality and respect.

12/09/2026

CASE CLOSURE: ENDING WITH DIGNITY

There comes a time when a case no longer needs active follow-up. But how that moment is handled matters.

Case closure is not simply about completing the paperwork and saying, “Your case is closed.”

It is about sitting with the survivor and asking: What has changed? What has been addressed? What support, if any, is still needed?

She deserves to understand why the case is closing, what she can do if she needs support again, and to leave the process feeling heard and respected.

Because case closure is not case abandonment.

Good case management knows when to step back without making a survivor feel left behind.

A case can close.
Support can continue to be within reach.

And sometimes, ending well is part of caring well.

11/09/2026

CASE FOLLOW-UP: THE PART WE DO NOT ALWAYS SEE

A survivor receives a referral.
A safety plan is made.
Support is put in place.

And then life goes on.

But sometimes, the referral did not work out.
Sometimes, the situation at home has changed.
Sometimes, a new concern has come up.
Sometimes, she simply needs something different from what she needed before.

That is why we follow up.

Not just to ask, “How is the case going?”
But to understand how things are going for her.

Is she still safe?
Did she get the support she was referred to?
Has anything changed?
Does the plan still make sense for her?

Follow-up gives the survivor a chance to say what is working, what is not, and what she may need now.

And it should never feel like someone is checking up on her or taking over her decisions. Follow-up is planned with the survivor, with her safety, privacy, preferences and choices at the centre.

Because support should not feel like something that was given once and then left behind.

Sometimes, staying connected is part of the support.

11/09/2026

🔹 ACTION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION: WHERE SUPPORT BECOMES REAL

A plan is important. But support becomes meaningful when that plan can be put into action.

This is where agreed actions begin to turn into real support for a survivor.

It may mean connecting her with a health worker, psychosocial support, legal services or another service she has chosen. Sometimes, that means making a direct introduction or accompanying her where appropriate, always with her informed consent.

But a referral is not simply handing someone a phone number and saying, “They can help you.”

It means knowing what services are available, where they are, and what might make it difficult for a survivor to reach them.

When different services work together, the survivor does not have to navigate every part of the system alone.

Support is not about taking over. It is about helping the survivor's choices become possible.

11/09/2026

🔹 CASE ACTION PLANNING: WHO GETS TO DECIDE?

Imagine having several things you need help with, but knowing you cannot deal with everything at once.

What would you want to handle first?

That is part of what case action planning is about.

A case worker may see several possible ways to help. But instead of deciding what should happen, the case worker sits with the survivor, explains the options, discusses what may be involved, and supports her to decide what she wants to do next.

It could be a medical need. A safety concern. Psychosocial support. Legal assistance. Economic support.

The case worker brings the information and support. The survivor has a voice in the decisions.

And the plan has to fit her real life; her safety, her resources, access to services, family or community pressures, and the support available to her.

Because the goal is not to create a plan that simply looks good on paper.

IT IS TO CREATE A PLAN THAT MAKES SENSE FOR HER.

HER NEEDS. HER CHOICES. HER PLAN.

10/09/2026

ASSESSMENT: LISTENING BEYOND THE SURFACE

Assessment is not an interrogation. It is about listening, understanding, and giving the survivor space to make informed choices.

In the assessment step of GBV case management, Cohort 1 explored four core areas:

🔹 Safety - Is the survivor safe from further harm?
🔹 Health - Does she need medical or other health support?
🔹 Psychosocial - What emotional or psychosocial support might she need?
🔹 Legal - Does she need information about her rights and available options?

But there is more to assessment than identifying these needs.

It also means looking at risks, priorities, and the services and support available. These help the survivor understand her options and decide what kind of support is right for her situation.

And how we ask matters. Open-ended, non-leading questions give survivors room to tell their story in their own words, without feeling pressured to disclose everything.

The goal is not to ask every possible question.

It is to listen well, understand the need, support informed choices, and respond appropriately.

Good assessment starts with listening beyond the surface.

09/09/2026

GBV CASE MANAGEMENT STEP 1: INTRODUCTION, ENGAGEMENT + INFORMED CONSENT

GBV CASE MANAGEMENT DOES NOT BEGIN WITH, “WHAT HAPPENED?”

So, where does it begin?

It begins with how we receive the survivor.

Imagine walking into a space to seek help and, before you have even settled, someone starts asking you questions. How that first interaction feels can influence whether you feel comfortable enough to stay, engage and continue the conversation.

That is why, in Step 1, the case worker takes time to welcome the survivor, introduce themselves, explain the case management process and what to expect, answer questions, and seek informed and voluntary consent before moving forward.

During Cohort 1’s practical session, participants brought this to life through a role-play exercise. Two participants took on the roles of case worker and survivor, practising how different approaches to that first interaction can either encourage engagement or create barriers to it.

The takeaway?

The first step is not about getting the survivor’s story as quickly as possible.

It is about creating a space where the survivor feels respected, informed and supported enough to decide whether they are ready to share.

Because sometimes, how we begin the conversation matters just as much as the questions we ask.

Adresse

Commercial Avennue, Savannah Street Bamenda
Bamenda

Heures d'ouverture

Mardi	09:00 - 16:00
Mercredi	09:00 - 16:00
Jeudi	09:00 - 16:00
Vendredi	09:00 - 16:00
Samedi	09:00 - 12:00

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+237699912544

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https://www.mohcam.org/, https://motherofhopecameroon.wordpress.com/

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