The Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a tool for field actors in the humanitarian community to establish a multi-sectoral coordinated approach to gender-based violence in emergency settings. It provides practical advice on how to ensure that humanitarian assistance and protection programmes for displaced populations are safe, and do not directly or indirectly increase women’s and girls’ risk to sexual violence. It also details what response services should be in place to meet the needs of survivors/victims of sexual violence.
These guidelines follow the general framework outlined in the UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women, adopted by the forty-first Session of the Executive Committee. The underlying principle of the Policy is to integrate the resources and needs of refugee women into all aspects of programming to ensure equitable protection and assistance activities. The guidelines also recognize that special efforts may be needed to resolve problems faced specifically by refugee women.
This revised and updated Handbook provides useful guidance as our Office continues to cope with the swift and increasingly dangerous nature of fresh displacement. It stresses the importance of pre-emergency planning, as well as planning throughout every stage of a crisis. It focuses on setting coordination priorities, as well as contingency and operational planning. Important information has also been included regarding staff safety and working with military personnel, as well as a section addressing the issue of how to cope with personal stress.
