Community peacemaking is a community-led way of responding to conflict, harm and damaged relationships.

It brings people together in a supported and culturally appropriate way so they can talk about what has happened, understand how others have been affected and consider what is needed to move forward.

Peacemaking may help people:

• speak and be heard;
• better understand the conflict and its wider effects;
• recognise their responsibilities to other people;
• address hurt, misunderstanding or unresolved concerns;
• reconnect with family, community, culture and place;
• agree on practical ways to prevent further harm; and
• begin rebuilding trust and relationships.

The purpose is not simply to stop an argument or secure an agreement. It is to help create the conditions in which peace can be restored and relationships can become safer, stronger or more manageable.

In some situations, this may lead to reconciliation. In others, people may need clearer boundaries, a period of separation or an agreed way to live alongside one another without further conflict. Peacemaking does not assume that every relationship can or should return to what it was before.

What peace looks like must be considered carefully and locally.

Peacemaking may involve one conversation or a longer period of support. It may include individual preparation, family discussions, cultural guidance, meetings between people in conflict and follow-up after an agreement has been reached.

The form can vary. What remains important is that the practice is safe, properly supported and grounded in recognised community authority.