Preventing SEAH in aid operations

Initiatives which support the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) in the aid sector are important for five core reasons:

• Prevention can help avoid harm being caused to different individuals as a result of their engagement with the aid sector.

• It can be cost-effective, helping organisations avoid programme changes, litigation, investigation and other related costs.

• It is more effective and efficient for humanitarian programmes and initiatives to embed prevention measures from the outset than include PSEAH measures retrospectively.

• Prevention can avoid reputational damage to individual organisations and the aid industry at large.

• Prevention may help encourage productivity amongst staff (because they are not working in an environment which normalises SEAH).

To date, however, the evidence suggests that PSEAH sector of work has largely focused on reporting mechanisms and response initiatives.

This document offers findings from a five-day literature review of the evidence on the existing approaches to prevent SEAH in the aid sector, and identifies any evidence on their resourcing, policy and operational implications. It should be noted that the content was refined within the scope of the query and that the limited literature available hampered comparative analysis on specific approaches, their implications and the specific resources needed to apply them.