Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Settings
Reduce risk through programme design, receive disclosures without investigating and connect people with support that protects their safety, dignity and choices.
Start with power, inequality and the person’s rights
Gender-based violence is a harmful act committed against a person’s will because of gender, or an act that disproportionately affects people of a particular gender. It includes threats, coercion and deprivation of liberty as well as physical, sexual, psychological, social or economic harm. It is rooted in unequal power, discrimination and harmful gender norms.
Women and girls face disproportionate risks, particularly where crisis weakens services, separates families, increases economic pressure, disrupts community protections or forces people to move through unsafe environments. Men, boys and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions can also experience GBV, often with different patterns of stigma and barriers to care.
A survivor-centred approach does not ask a person to earn support by proving what happened. It restores control wherever possible and applies four linked principles to every interaction.
Safety
Consider physical and emotional safety, including risks created by the response itself.
Confidentiality
Share identifiable information only with explicit informed consent, except where a clearly defined duty applies; then disclose only what is necessary through secure channels.
Respect
Believe the person, protect dignity and support informed choices without pressure.
Non-discrimination
Offer equitable support regardless of identity, status, age, disability or circumstance.
Forms of GBV and why crisis can increase risk
GBV is not one type of incident and no list is exhaustive. The same person may experience several forms of harm, and labels should never replace listening to how they describe their own needs.
Sexual and physical violence
- Rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and unwanted sexual contact.
- Intimate partner violence and other violence within families or households.
- Conflict-related sexual violence, including violence linked to detention, armed control or displacement routes.
Coercion and harmful practices
- Child marriage, forced marriage and other harmful practices.
- Threats, blackmail, forced isolation or control of movement and documents.
- Violence targeting a person’s actual or perceived sexuality, gender identity or expression.
Exploitation and economic abuse
- Sexual exploitation, trafficking and demands for sex in exchange for assistance, work, transport or protection.
- Control of income, aid, property, inheritance or access to livelihoods.
- Abuse of dependency created by displacement, documentation problems or unequal access to services.
Psychological and technology-facilitated harm
- Threats, humiliation, intimidation, stalking and sustained coercive control.
- Non-consensual sharing of intimate material, online harassment or digital surveillance.
- Public exposure of a person’s identity, disclosure or help-seeking without consent.
Build safety into every programme decision
Risk mitigation is not an extra protection activity added after design. It belongs in how a team chooses locations, opening hours, queues, staffing, communications, data, transport, facilities, feedback routes and partnerships.
Safe access
Check routes, distance, timing, lighting, crowding, privacy, mobility barriers and the need to travel alone.
Inclusive consultation
Consult women, adolescent girls and other at-risk groups through safe, accessible methods and separate discussions where appropriate.
Facilities and sites
Review locks, partitions, sight lines, water points, latrines, bathing areas, shelters, waiting areas and distribution layouts.
Information and data
Use discreet communications, collect the minimum necessary data and prevent lists, devices or conversations from exposing people.
Assistance and markets
Examine who controls cash, cards, phones, documents and transport, and whether eligibility or collection systems can be exploited.
Feedback and complaints
Provide more than one confidential, accessible route and explain what happens after a report, including limits and response times.
Six checks before delivery begins
- Map the decision points.Identify where site, schedule, eligibility, staffing or communication choices could create exposure or dependency.
- Consult without extracting disclosures.Ask about general safety, access barriers and preferred solutions; do not ask people to reveal personal incidents.
- Verify the referral pathway.Confirm services, contacts, opening hours, eligibility, accessibility, costs and safe information-sharing.
- Train every public-facing role.Reception, drivers, guards, volunteers, enumerators, contractors and partners need first-response and conduct expectations.
- Test complaints routes.Check privacy, language, disability access, retaliation risk and whether a real response can follow.
- Monitor and adapt.Use safe feedback and observation to review unintended harm, then document and close corrective actions.
When someone discloses: listen, do not investigate
The role of a non-specialist is to provide humane first-line support and connect the person with options—not to determine whether an offence occurred, identify an alleged perpetrator or build a case. The WHO LIVES approach was developed for health providers; the steps below adapt its first-line principles for non-specialists and should be used alongside the GBV Pocket Guide and local procedures.
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Listen closely, with empathy
Move to a private and safe setting if the person wants to. Stay calm, use their words, allow silence and avoid pressing for a detailed account.
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Inquire about needs and concerns
Ask what they need now and whether there is an immediate safety or health concern. Ask only what is necessary for support and referral.
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Validate
Acknowledge what they have shared, make clear the harm is not their fault and avoid judging their choices, identity, relationship or timing.
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Enhance safety
Discuss immediate risks and safer options without imposing a plan. A forced action, unsafe call or unplanned confrontation can increase danger.
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Support
Explain available health, psychosocial, protection, legal or other services in plain language. Obtain explicit informed consent before referral or identifiable information-sharing. The person has the right to decline a service.
Do
- Thank the person for telling you and affirm their right to support.
- Explain your role and any limits to confidentiality early.
- Offer choices and check understanding without creating pressure.
- Use interpreters or accessibility support only through safe, approved arrangements.
- Do not create an identifiable record unless it is necessary and authorised. Obtain explicit informed consent, or where a defined duty applies, explain it and record only the minimum required.
Avoid
- Asking “why”, testing consistency, seeking proof or conducting an interview.
- Promising a particular outcome or absolute secrecy.
- Contacting family, community leaders or police without explicit informed consent, except where a clearly defined duty applies and specialist advice, safety planning and minimum disclosure guide the response.
- Sharing names or details in radios, vehicles, open offices, email chains or group chats.
- Mediating, encouraging reconciliation or confronting anyone involved.
A referral pathway must work before it is needed
A phone number is not a referral pathway. Teams need current, discreet and verified information about the services available, who can access them and how consent and information will be handled.
Verify services
- Health and clinical care, including time-sensitive options.
- GBV case management and psychosocial support.
- Protection, safe accommodation and other immediate safety support.
- Legal information and services where safe and requested.
Verify access
- Opening hours, after-hours arrangements and named contact method.
- Eligibility, documentation, cost, transport and geographic limits.
- Language, disability, age and gender-related accessibility.
- Confidentiality, consent, record-keeping and feedback arrangements.
Staff conduct, safeguarding and PSEA
Humanitarian personnel, volunteers, contractors and partners hold power through access to assistance, information, employment, transport and services. Codes of conduct and safeguarding systems must turn that power into clear boundaries and enforceable accountability.
Non-negotiable behaviour
- Never demand or accept sex, sexual contact or another personal benefit in exchange for aid, work, transport, protection or influence.
- Never exploit a person’s age, dependency, displacement, poverty, disability or lack of documentation.
- Sexual activity with anyone under 18 is prohibited regardless of local age of consent; mistaken belief about age is not a defence.
- Any sexual relationship with a person receiving humanitarian assistance that involves improper use of rank or position is prohibited.
- Follow the organisation’s rules on sexual relationships, harassment, conflicts of interest and contact with children.
- Report concerns through approved PSEA or safeguarding channels without investigating them yourself.
GBV and PSEA overlap, but are not identical
GBV describes violence rooted in gender and unequal power across society, families, communities and institutions.
PSEA is the organisational framework for preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse committed by personnel against affected people.
A concern may involve both. The survivor-support route and the staff misconduct/reporting route may need to run in parallel. Explain reporting limits early: a staff duty to report does not authorise circulation of the person’s full identity or account, and information must remain minimum and strictly need-to-know.
Turn policy into operational controls
Training alone does not create safety. Managers need systems that work under pressure, across partners and after hours.
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Assign ownership
Name trained GBV, protection, safeguarding, child-protection and PSEA contacts, with coverage during leave and outside office hours.
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Separate support from investigation
Make clear who provides survivor support, who receives misconduct reports and who is authorised to investigate. Frontline staff should not combine these roles.
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Check partners and contractors
Include conduct standards, safe reporting, referral knowledge, supervision and corrective-action expectations in agreements and onboarding.
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Protect against retaliation
Assess risks to survivors, witnesses and reporters; restrict access to records; and monitor whether complaints create exclusion, pressure or reprisal.
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Review the programme, not the survivor
Use incident learning and safe feedback to correct systems without circulating personal details or treating disclosure counts as a performance target.
Authoritative guidance and further reading
Use current national and local referral pathways, your organisation’s approved procedures and specialist advice for the setting. The sources below provide the global foundation for risk mitigation and first-line support.
IASC Guidelines for Integrating GBV Interventions in Humanitarian Action
The cross-sector foundation for identifying and mitigating GBV risks throughout humanitarian action.
Open IASC Guidelines for Integrating GBV Interventions in Humanitarian ActionGBV Pocket Guide
Practical support for practitioners when no GBV specialist or referral actor is available.
Open GBV Pocket GuideIFRC survivor-centred approach
Guidance built around safety, confidentiality, respect and non-discrimination.
Open IFRC survivor-centred approachIFRC guidance on reacting to disclosures
First-response considerations when a person discloses sexual or gender-based violence.
Open IFRC guidance on reacting to disclosuresUNFPA Minimum Standards for GBV in Emergencies
Minimum standards for specialised prevention, response, coordination and quality services.
Open UNFPA Minimum Standards for GBV in EmergenciesWHO LIVES first-line support curriculum
Training materials for listening, understanding needs, validating, enhancing safety and supporting survivors.
Open WHO LIVES first-line support curriculumGBV Area of Responsibility Pocket Guide resource
Operational access to the Pocket Guide and related materials for humanitarian settings.
Open GBV Area of Responsibility Pocket Guide resourceIASC Six Core Principles relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
The global conduct and reporting principles for humanitarian personnel and organisations.
Open IASC Six Core Principles relating to Sexual Exploitation and AbuseFrequently asked questions
What is gender-based violence?
Gender-based violence is a harmful act committed against a person’s will because of gender, or an act that disproportionately affects people of a particular gender. It includes threats, coercion and deprivation of liberty as well as physical, sexual, psychological, social or economic harm, and is rooted in unequal power, discrimination or harmful norms.
Is GBV only a protection team issue?
No. Every sector can reduce or increase GBV risk through programme design, access arrangements, information handling and staff behaviour. Specialist teams lead case management and technical GBV services; all teams are responsible for safe risk mitigation.
What should I do first if someone discloses GBV?
Stay calm, listen without pressing for details, ask what the person needs now, and explain support options and confidentiality limits. Obtain explicit informed consent before referral or identifiable information-sharing. If a defined legal or safeguarding duty requires action without consent, explain the limit, involve the person in safety planning and share only what is necessary.
Should I ask for details or evidence?
No. A non-specialist should not investigate, test the account, ask for proof or collect a full history. Ask only what is necessary to understand immediate needs, safety and the support the person wants.
Can I promise complete confidentiality?
Do not promise absolute confidentiality. Explain clearly who may need to know, why, and what choices the person has. If a defined child-safeguarding, immediate-safety or legal duty requires information-sharing, seek specialist guidance, keep the person involved in safety planning and disclose only the minimum necessary.
Can GBV affect men, boys and LGBTQ+ people?
Yes. Women and girls face disproportionate GBV risks, and men, boys and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions can also experience gender-based violence. Risks, stigma and barriers to care differ and services should not assume one experience fits everyone.
What changes when a child may be at risk?
Follow the approved protocol and applicable law, and seek prompt guidance from the designated child-protection or safeguarding focal point without identifying the child where possible. Before any required identifiable sharing, explain the limits in age-appropriate language, consider the child’s wishes and evolving capacity alongside their best interests, and disclose only what is necessary. Do not investigate, confront an alleged perpetrator or automatically contact a caregiver.