Get support

CHS Alliance works closely with the World Health Organization and part of their mandate, the organisation is leading the development of a Guideline on the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct in the Public Health Sector.

Ntombifuthi Dennis, from the Department for Gender, Rights, Equity and Sexual Misconduct Prevention (GEM) at the World Health Organization in Geneva, writes:
“This initiative responds to growing calls from WHO Member States and stakeholders across the humanitarian and development sectors for clear, evidence-based, and context-specific guidance to strengthen prevention and response efforts.

The guideline aims to provide scientifically sound and operationally relevant recommendations that can be applied across all levels of prevention – primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary – and institutionalized within relevant organizations and entities, with a particular focus on the health sector.

Target users of the guideline include WHO Member States, decision-makers, and practitioners in the public health sector, including agencies, entities, and implementing partners across the humanitarian and development sectors.

To support this work, WHO has commissioned a systematic review to assess the global evidence base on effective strategies to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct. This review will cover evidence from interventions across safeguarding, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, and institutional culture change.”

The types of evidence that will be reviewed include quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods evidence across the following areas – here are some examples:

1. Prevention

• Pre- and post-assessments or evaluations of training and awareness-raising interventions
• Evaluation of community mobilization to reduce stigma and dismantle discriminatory social/gender norms
• Evaluations of risk assessment and mitigation strategies
• Assessments of community engagement and mobilization effectiveness
• Reviews of policy implementation or codes of conduct in the aid and public health sectors

2. Reporting

• Evaluations of community-based and institutional reporting mechanisms
• Reports on victim/survivor feedback and experiences on reporting and investigations
• Assessments of bystander or allyship programs

3. Response

• Evaluations of responder training and capacity building
• Assessments of trauma-informed and victim/survivor-centered approaches in service delivery, assistance and protection networks
• Evaluation of the impact of in-kind and financial support to survivors of sexual /gender-based violence, including sexual misconduct
• Reviews of incident management systems and service accessibility

4. Feedback and Learning

• Evaluations of learning and feedback mechanisms, including from survivors

5. Institutional Change

• Assessments of organizational culture change
• Evaluations of respectful workplace initiatives, gender equality, and inclusion
• Reviews of values-based leadership programs and staff dialogue processes
• Capacity-building interventions for leadership and allyship programs

Ntombifuthi continues “If you are aware of any such materials—whether published or unpublished—we would be grateful if you could share them with our team by sending them via email to Ntombifuthi Dennis at: ndennis@who.int. The final systematic review report will be shared with partners across the sector and made publicly available to support shared learning and strengthen the use of evidence.

“Thank you in advance for your valuable contributions and continued partnership.”