Doing the right thing: protection from exploitation and abuse in humanitarian action

We will never be able to fully eradicate the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian action. It’s not unique to aid operations (but that’s not an excuse); it’s a grim reality of the contexts we work in. Even so, we can, and must, do better at preventing it from happening. Efforts to prevent and protect across our operations have not been timely, consistent or sufficient. And when abuse happens, we must be more sensitive to the needs and the wishes of the victims. It shouldn’t need to be said, but that’s the priority, not protecting the reputation of humanitarian organisations.

Sexual abuse and exploitation by aid workers is an absolute betrayal of the trust placed in us and the values we say we live by. And it’s a sign of a deeper malaise: if this most grotesque abuse can occur, other forms of misconduct are likely too. Conversely, if there is fraud or bullying, there may be an organisational culture that tolerates sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

We are still too reactive when it comes to incidents of sexual abuse. Rather than systematically identifying the risk factors, learning from cases, and building upon experience, the community too often has reacted in haste to exposure by international media coverage. These reactions have, by definition, tried to compensate for failures that have already happened. But rushing into action in the glare of negative publicity may not result in the desired impact or provide a better foundation for the future.

That’s why it’s useful to look into the experience of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to understand where humanitarian agencies should put their energies to improve prevention and focus their responses. In 2021, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as the IASC Champion for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment, See articles about the IASC Championship and the IASC Review included in this edition. The role was filled in 2021 by Natalia Kanem, UNFPA’s Executive Director and in 2022 by Andrew Morley, Chair of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response and CEO of World Vision International. commissioned a review of 10 years of collective action on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment. The findings, when compared with a similar review from 2010, demonstrate that recommendations had not been systematically implemented. The sum of our actions was unfortunately less than its parts.

As a result, I led the IASC in endorsing a multi-year strategy with measurable targets. The aim is to leverage the best of individual and collective initiatives from the IASC members. The strategy focuses on collaborative efforts that will have the most impact and are most in need of improvement.

We have made three major commitments. The first is to be more attuned to the needs and vulnerabilities of potential victims and, should an incident occur, to shift from a concern for our reputations to providing support and assistance to the victim. We will measure our future efforts against an agreed victim-centred approach.

The first tenet of a victim-centred approach is, of course, to reduce the number of victims from the outset. As we said in the IASC Principals statement on Accountability to Affected People, we commit to enabling affected people, including women and girls, to effectively shape the humanitarian response. We will promote authentic ways to listen to and act on the feedback from the communities we serve, so that assistance is delivered in a way that reduces risk of abuse.

We will also ensure that both responders and communities receiving assistance are aware of the rules and expectations around safe programming and standards of conduct among all partners in humanitarian response. We will make it possible for people to report sexual exploitation and abuse through safe, accessible and locally tailored complaint channels.

Placing the rights and dignity of victims at the forefront of our response means providing assistance that goes beyond immediate medical services. It demands a comprehensive approach that includes psycho-social care, ensuring protection from retaliation, and communication and information about the investigative process.

Our second commitment is to change organisational culture on the front lines of emergency response.The World Health Organisation (WHO) mandated Independent Commission on SEA during the Ebola response in the DRC insisted that, in the urgency of setting up life-saving support, we must also put in place the right safeguards. This includes gender balance in leadership, with women equally represented in frontline teams, and measures of performance that focus on how a programme has been delivered, not only what the programme has achieved.

Our third commitment is to increase the ability to prevent and protect from sexual exploitation and abuse in high-risk contexts. The IASC is creating a tool that gauges the risk of SEA in countries with active international humanitarian operations. It will provide a common, shared and informed baseline to compare risk across countries and over time. This will help us make the most strategic use of resources by prioritising issues and countries of concern.

We are increasingly investing in identifying, selecting and training field leaders to understand and prioritise their responsibility to foster a safe and respectful workplace. Managers will understand the need to change culture and attitudes and to bolster common values that could prevent abuse, including the responsibility of bystanders to intervene.

The IASC strategy represents the collective commitment of the humanitarian community to make humanitarian action better. We cannot tackle all areas that need improvement, but the IASC Review brings focus to areas of greatest impact and leads us to prioritise and sequence our investments.

As the volume and reach of humanitarian assistance expands, the risk of exploitation and abuse grows. During my recent visit to Afghanistan, it was heart-wrenching to see the assault on girls’ education, further limiting their livelihood options and rights in a country in the grip of a dire crisis, with half the population acutely food insecure amidst economic collapse and a record drought. These restrictions on rights are major setbacks for those directly impacted, and also for the country. I am deeply concerned that curtailing women’s and girls’ rights increases the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse and potentially undermines the response by constraining the ability of female aid workers to operate.

I am also very concerned about the crisis in Ukraine, a context where there was already high incidence of trafficking of women and girls. Collectively, through the IASC, we are putting specialist staff on the ground in support of field leadership. The Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, a multi-donor fund managed by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has earmarked at least $5 million for projects that support an accountable and dignified response. That includes supporting local NGOs and interagency projects on PSEA and accountability.

While we rush to scale up response in a new operation and help millions affected by the war, we must recognise the high risks the operation presents. I am keenly aware of the painful lessons of the past and conscious that we have a major test of our PSEA approach before us. We have the evidence, a shared understanding of the priorities, and an agreed strategy. We can and must do this right. Our credibility, legitimacy and values are on the line.

Martin Griffiths is the Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.