Philippines: Terms of Reference for the Inter-Agency PSEA Network (As endorsed by the UNCT and HCT members in March 2024)

BACKGROUND

At the heart of development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding works is ensuring the protection of all people, especially women, children, and other vulnerable groups. Sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by aid workers is prohibited with the release of the Secretary-General’s Bulletin (ST/SGG2003/13) on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). UN and NGO workers are obliged to prevent, report, and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA).

With the urgency of putting in place mechanisms to address PSEA and noting that the country is highly exposed to disasters and armed conflicts, the Philippine Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) took leadership by spearheading the establishment of the PSEA Task Force (PSEA TF) in 2018. Member UN agencies and NGOs designated their PSEA Focal Points to collectively build the nation’s capacity to address SEA in a humanitarian context. It has been a good practice to have at least one UN Co-Chair and one NGO CoChair to lead the PSEA TF.

Since its establishment up to 2023, the PSEA TF has put in place reporting and referral procedures through the development of its Standard Operating Procedures, conducted PSEA training and orientations, and awareness-raising not just among the UN and NGO personnel but also in communities receiving humanitarian assistance, developed PSEA communication materials and displayed them in strategic areas for easy access, worked with the national and local government units affected by the calamities, and integrated PSEA into humanitarian response plans including funding proposals. Two international PSEA Coordinators were deployed to support the PSEA TF.

However, 2024 is witnessing major shifts taking place within the Task Force. In accelerating efforts to prevent and respond to SEA, the group is expanding its coverage to also integrate PSEA in development and peacebuilding contexts noting that PSEA principles and standards are the same across all contexts. To be more strategic in approach, the group is to be called now as Philippines Inter-Agency PSEA Network and no longer a PSEA Task Force and it will be more inclusive of local CSOs while ensuring that all members are compliant with the PSEA core standards. The PSEA Network will develop the country’s PSEA Strategy Plan from 2024 to 2028. This way, the Network will be able to measure its impact, capture results after a certain period, and develop new or innovate from existing models for development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding.

With the introduction of new institutional arrangements at the National and Mindanao levels, the PSEA Network will be overseen by the UN Country Team (UNCT) (for development), the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) (for humanitarian), and the Mindanao Humanitarian Team (MHT) (for development, humanitarian, & peacebuilding nexus).