Attachments
Introduction
Report the Abuse (RTA) began operating on 19 August 2015, and one of its first acts was to open up a public, confidential, non-judgemental, and anonymous platform where humanitarian aid workers could express their experiences and knowledge about sexual violence incidents within the humanitarian community.
Some of the respondents to this platform were humanitarian aid workers who wanted to contribute to creating change on the topic. Others were witnesses to sexual violence – particularly against national staff colleagues – who wanted to ensure that these experiences were not forgotten. Overwhelmingly, the humanitarian aid workers who came forward were survivors of sexual violence themselves.
The feedback from these survivors was gratitude for the creation of the platform. For many, it was one of the first times that they had talked about their experiences with sexual violence; a concerning number of survivors had only spoken about it with a few people previously in their lives.
Many survivors talked about how the platform and the existence of RTA helped them to heal, or open up to those in their lives. It helped survivors to proceed with investigations and reporting mechanisms against their perpetrators. It helped survivors to seek psychosocial support and medical care.
RTA was founded by a survivor of sexual violence, but it was built by the community created by the growing number of those choosing to speak up about what they are experiencing as humanitarian aid workers. We are grateful for the trust and support of everyone who is speaking about sexual violence, and in this space honour their voices again.
With the closure of RTA on 20 August 2017, we wanted to ensure that information about sexual violence in the humanitarian community was available long past the end of the NGO’s operations. The voices of these survivors cannot be forgotten.
We encourage everyone – humanitarian aid workers, humanitarian organisations, donors, trainers, and journalists – to use the statistics and stories contained within this compilation: with respect, honour, and ensuring the dignity of those who were brave enough to come forward (1).
(1) The information contained in this compilation may be challenging and impactful for some readers. If needed, reaching out for psychosocial support is encouraged, and resources are available on RTA’s website at: http://www.reporttheabuse.org/help-for-suvivors/