Attachments
1. About These Guidelines
Purpose of These Guidelines
The purpose of these Guidelines is to assist humanitarian actors and communities affected by armed conflict, natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies to coordinate, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate essential actions for the prevention and mitigation of gender-based violence (GBV) across all sectors of humanitarian response.
As detailed below, GBV is a widespread international public health and human rights issue. During a humanitarian crisis, many factors can exacerbate GBV-related risks. These include—but are not limited to—increased militarization, lack of community and State protections, displacement, scarcity of essential resources, disruption of community services, changing cultural and gender norms, disrupted relationships and weakened infrastructure.
All national and international actors responding to an emergency have a duty to protect those affected by the crisis; this includes protecting them from GBV. In order to save lives and maximize protection, essential actions must be undertaken in a coordinated manner from the earliest stages of emergency preparedness. These actions, described in Part Three: Thematic Area Guidance, are necessary in every humanitarian crisis and are focused on three overarching and interlinked goals:
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To reduce risk of GBV by implementing GBV prevention and mitigation strategies across all areas of humanitarian response from pre-emergency through to recovery stages;
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To promote resilience by strengthening national and community-based systems that prevent and mitigate GBV, and by enabling survivors1 and those at risk of GBV to access care and support; and
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To aid recovery of communities and societies by supporting local and national capacity to create lasting solutions to the problem of GBV.