Issue 60

Gender-based violence in emergencies

February 10, 2014
Humanitarian Practice Network
Woman in a camp in Maban, South Sudan
121 min read

The special feature of this edition of Humanitarian Exchange focuses on gender-based violence (GBV) in humanitarian crises.

  • International concern over GBV in emergencies has grown significantly in recent years, and good practice standards, guidelines, training resources and other tools have been developed. Yet as Dharini Bhuvanendra and Rebecca Holmes point out in their article on the findings of their recent review of literature on GBV in humanitarian contexts, very little of the evidence and learning from good practice has been adequately documented or disseminated, and there is a profound lack of agreement amongst humanitarian practitioners on how to define, prevent and respond to GBV.
  • Sophie Read-Hamilton analyses of the different interpretations of GBV helps to explain why there are conflicting perspectives.
  • Jeanne Ward provides an update on the revision of the 2005 Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings.
  • Alina Potts and Virginia Zuco report on the International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s experience of operationalising GBV guidance.
  • Dale Buscher discusses the programming choices agencies can make to help prevent or reduce GBV.
  • The article by Aisha Bain and Marie-France Guimond uses examples from West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to demonstrate how service-based data can be used to improve GBV programming.
  • Claire Magone cautions against an over-emphasis on collecting prevalence data over addressing victims’ needs.
  • Aurélie Lamazière explains how Geneva Call uses Deeds of Commitment to promote humanitarian norms by armed non-state actors.
  • Sarah Cotton and Charlotte Nicol describe the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s efforts to address GBV.
  • Martha Thompson, Mary Okumu and Atema Eclai reflect on a programme implemented in Darfur from 2008–2011 using the agency of affected communities to improve the safety of women and girls.
  • Sarah House and colleagues report on a new Violence, Gender and WASH Toolkit.
  • Gina Pattugalan looks at the links between food assistance programmes and GBV, and how the World Food Programme (WFP) is adjusting its programming to respond
  • Jean Casey and Kelly Hawrylyshyn from Plan International report on the results of a recent survey of humanitarian response in relation to adolescent girls.

As always, we welcome any comments or feedback, which can be sent to hpn@odi.org.uk or to The Coordinator, 203 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ.

Issue 60 articles