Sector Hub to Prevent and Address Sexual Misconduct in the Delivery of Assistance

The project aims to reduce the risk of sexual misconduct in the delivery of international assistance especially sexual misconduct directed towards beneficiaries of Canadian development and humanitarian assistance and in particular women and girls who are disproportionately the victims of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). Cases of SEA have existed in the international development and humanitarian sector for some time as have efforts to reduce and address it. Preventing and responding to SEA is essential to protecting those most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse especially women and girls. This project supports the creation of a Sector Hub aimed at building the capacity of Canadian international development and humanitarian organizations (IDHOs) to develop and implement prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) measures. The project is implemented by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) as the key umbrella organization for Canada’s international development and humanitarian partners. Both CCIC members and non-members are offered access to resources and services to respond to specific PSEA capacity gaps identified through a needs assessment. Project activities include: (1) developing an e-platform for Canadian international development and humanitarian organizations (IDHOs) to share resources and experiences; (2) delivering training and workshops to IDHOs targeting specific capacity gaps; (3) developing support materials toolkits and case studies; and (4) creation of a database of specialized services.

The expected outcome for this project includes: increased use of improved gender-responsive practices and policies by Canadian international development and humanitarian organizations (IDHOs) to prevent and address sexual misconduct within their organizations especially towards their beneficiaries (particularly women and girls). Results achieved by Cooperation Canada’s Digna through the support of the Government of Canada and other international donors as of 2022 to 2023 incudes: (1) supported over 109 Canadian civil society organizations working internationally; and (2) provided participating organizations with training tools resources and partnerships in cooperation with Digna. This supports their work to prevent and address sexual exploitation and abuse in partner countries. As a result over three-quarters of these organizations reported creating and updating their policies and procedures from 2022 to 2023 an 11% increase from the previous year. Satisfaction with the capacity-building activities and training sessions exceeded the target of 70% and 87% of participants reported an improvement in their knowledge of PSEA.