‘Bad Blood’: Perceptions of children born of conflict-related sexual violence and women and girls associated with Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria

Sexual violence is a prevalent factor of the ongoing conflict in northeast Nigeria. Hundreds of women and girls have been raped by fighters belonging to Jama’atul ahl al-sunnah li da’awati wal jihad (JAS), known globally as Boko Haram. Many of the women and girls were abducted, forcibly married to their captors and became pregnant as a result of rape.

This publication by International Alert and UNICEF is the result of research performed in Borno in northeast Nigeria to understand the impact of communities’ and authorities’ perceptions of these women, girls, and their children on safety, rehabilitation, and reintegration opportunities. The report concludes with policy and programming recommendations to ensure that reintegration and relocation plans are conflict sensitive and support child protection and peacebuilding outcomes.