Building Safer Organisations Project

The Building Safer Organisations (BSO) project relocated from ICVA to the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership - International (HAP-I) in April 2007. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the BSO Secretariat at secretariat@hapinternational.org.

A project to build NGO capacity to receive and respond to allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation of persons of concern by NGO staff

Reports of exploitation and abuse in refugee camps in West Africa and Nepal in 2002, demonstrated that NGOs working with persons of concern must anticipate and be prepared to respond to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by members of staff. To improve NGOs' capacity to receive and respond to such allegations, the Building Safer Organisations (BSO) project was launched in September 2004. This inter-agency project, managed by ICVA, brings together more than 240 large and small organisations that work with persons of concern.

Project goal

The goal of the BSO project is to reduce the risk of SEA of persons of concern by aid workers. The project therefore supports agencies in institutionalising common standards on preventing and responding to SEA, namely, the UN Secretary-General's Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse,¹ and the IASC draft Model Complaints and Investigation Procedures and Guidance Related to Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation.²

It follows that NGOs who implement complaints mechanisms and train staff to conduct and manage investigations will be more likely to appropriately receive and respond to complaints of abuse. This in turn acts as a deterrent for potential perpetrators and increases NGO accountability to persons of concern.

Progress so far: activities and achievements in Phase I

Learning programmes

During Phase I of the project, BSO conducted a series of two Learning Programmes, the Investigation and the Managing an Investigation Learning Programmes. Ten Learning Programme workshops were held in 5 regions around the world, benefiting 160 NGO staff. The project's independent evaluator described the Learning Programmes as "valuable tools for humanitarian agencies in strengthening their capacity to receive and investigate allegations of SEA of beneficiaries by staff".³ (See Breaking the Code, a report by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.

Training Handbook and Guidelines

BSO also developed a Training Handbook and Guidelines on complaints and investigation procedures. The project secretariat designed the Training Handbook and Guidelines through a process of information sharing, ongoing discussions, and piloting of materials. NGO staff and managers, professional investigators, and child protection experts all participated in this extensive process. Both documents are available for download in PDF format by following the links below or by request to secretariat@hapinternational.org.

BSO Handbook: Training materials on receiving and investigating allegations of abuse and exploitation by humanitarian workers.

BSO Guidelines: Receiving and investigating allegations of abuse and exploitation by humanitarian workers.

The project going forward: activities planned for Phase II

Phase II of the project began in summer 2006 with the goal of strengthening and entrenching the gains made in Phase I.

Further workshops

From November 2006 to January 2008, BSO will facilitate 13 Learning Programme workshops:

• Investigation Learning Programme:
• 5 Investigations workshops
• 3 Follow-up workshops
• Managing an Investigation Learning Programme:
• 5 Management workshops

Dates and locations are being finalised and will be posted on the ICVA calendar shortly.

New initiatives

During Phase II, the project will also:

• design and pilot course materials for a training of trainers workshop. This will increase the global capacity of NGOs to address beneficiary SEA by ensuring training is available outside the BSO project;
• create and manage 6 regional networks focusing on responding to SEA. Participants in the regional network will include qualified NGO staff and managers as well as beneficiaries;
• launch an online information exchange to respond to NGO requests for assistance;
• distribute the BSO Training Handbook and Guidelines.

A further evaluation of the project will be in the fall of 2007.

Getting involved

The success of the BSO project in Phase I is largely due to the agencies and organisations that took part. We are extremely grateful for their contribution and look forward to continued collaborations in Phase II. In addition, we welcome expressions of interest from new participants. Please contact secretariat@hapinternational.org to receive further information.

¹ UN Secretary-General's Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13). October 2003.

² The Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force (IASC) draft Model Complaints and Investigation Procedures and Guidance Related to Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation. March 2004

³ Lattu, Kirsti. 2006. Breaking the Code. Building Capacity to Investigate Sexual Abuse and Exploitation by Humanitarian Workers - Evaluating ICVA's Building Safer Organisations Project. Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.