Executive summary
Between 12 and 20 July 2025, Tearfund conducted a survey at 11 locations in the Oromia, Central Ethiopia and Sidama regions to better understand how people in these areas understood security and what their priorities were for ensuring it. The team selected locations that had been used for the Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action project. This was a five-year programme (2021–2025) in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to further peaceful and just societies where all enjoy Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB). The survey was conducted at the end of this programme so the programme will have influenced peoples’ responses. The survey sampled 1,008 people. Just under two-thirds of the sample were male and one third female. Both Muslims and Christians were surveyed with just over half being Christian. A small percentage described themselves as following traditional faiths.
People in Ethiopia describe security as having respect for human rights, the ability to meet their own basic needs, and freedom of movement. Many also described being able to go about their daily life without threat, equality between different groups, and fair and effective law enforcement forces. They stated that a lack of access to justice, use of the armed forces, the lack of freedom of speech, the poor standard of policing and high levels of corruption adversely affected their quality of life.
People felt safe when they felt visible in well-lit open spaces. People felt safest with the presence rather than the lack of security guards although they did not feel safe in an environment where there were security cameras. Views on the presence of the police were mixed, with just over half preferring a strong police presence and just under half preferring a low police presence. Views on the police did differ slightly between age groups and faith groups. Given a choice between having a more powerful military or more police where they live, 60 per cent said they would feel safer with a more powerful military. When given a choice between better access to healthcare and having a better equipped military, three quarters said they would feel safer with better access to healthcare.
Asked whether they had personally experienced threats to their security in the preceding year, half of those surveyed said that they had. Of these, the most commonly reported threat was to do with crime, including incidents of fraud and corruption. Closely following were threats due to economic hardship and the increasing cost of living with several citing unemployment and lack of income as a challenge. This was followed by experiences of violent conflict and war.
Asked to categorise options as a threat or not a threat, the options selected by the most people as threats were corruption and crime, followed by climate change, the actions of the government, the behaviour of politicians, and the state of the economy. People also saw pandemics and social media as threats. Given a choice of possible options to improve their security, people prioritised government investment in healthcare, agriculture and education. People did not see investment in the armed forces and the police as a high priority, with investment in the police being the lowest priority of the options offered. Asked to suggest things that would improve their security and make them feel safer, the greatest desire was for security, safety and stability, for peace and an absence of conflict. People placed a high priority on strengthening the rule of law, supporting human rights, increasing accountability, countering corruption and improving transparency, alongside a desire for better governance. These issues dominated responses and were followed by calls for an improved economy, greater employment and improved incomes.
There was little variation in findings between faith groups, genders or age groups.
