The document was prepared through a broad and lengthy consultation process within the United Nations system, with extensive reference to the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Assistance, Implementation Group on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. It is hoped that this glossary serves as a practical reference guide to terms often used within humanitarian situations, and that it will be reviewed and updated periodically.
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.
