It can be used by individuals in many contexts but also used by trained and co-ordinated groups of people in situations that are particularly unsafe or when conflict, violence or repression is anticipated. All of us can be nonviolent peacekeepers. In our everyday lives many of us already have personal safety strategies and techniques. We often practise techniques that minimise, reduce or interrupt violence, resolve conflict and resist harassment within our lives, sometimes without even realising how effective they are. Nonviolent peacekeeping draws from and is based on these creative everyday skills and strategies.
Peacekeeping is guided by an awareness of 'safety' and 'unsafety' that is centred in our own bodies.
This body centred awareness forms a secure, grounded place from which to act that is trustworthy and unalterably ours. Using clear and identifiable 'body alerts' which are part of the bodies automatic nervous system, we can define safety ourselves and act in ways that are safest for us. Peacekeeping is about using power, but in a way that seeks to work with, rather than against other people. This use of 'power-with' is important and something that allows us to create safety in ways that do not exclude, alienate or repress the needs of others. Peacekeeping is about creating space, often on a small scale, in which people can express themselves to the fullest.