Jamii Bila Balaa: Strengthening the role of families and community influencers to prevent recruitment into violent extremism groups is a 24-month project implemented by Search in partnership with two local NGOs: Ijara Women for Peace (IJW) and Tana River Peace Reconciliation and Development (TRPRD) in Garissa and Tana River Counties, Kenya. The project started in September 2018 and is funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (DOS CT).
Globally, there is a growing interest and attention on the place of youth and women in radicalization and VE, especially in areas like Coastal and North Eastern Kenya where violent extremism continues. Studies have extensively analyzed push and pull factors leading to violent extremism, but there is a limited understanding of the role that youth and women play in transforming violent extremism.
Families and youth peers of individuals at risk of radicalization play a crucial role in shaping attitudes and beliefs during adolescence. The baseline sought to understand how these relationships can respond to violent extremism. Particularly to what extent families and peers are able to recognize risks of VE recruitment; community perceptions, stereotypes, social and cultural structures that add pressure to at-risk youth to be recruited into VE and the existing legal and psychosocial support structures for victims and at risk individuals in Garissa and Tana River Counties.
