Sexual violence in humanitarian emergencies, such as armed conflict and natural disasters, is a serious public health and human rights issue. Yet, the prevalence of sexual violence is underreported almost everywhere in the world, and ethical and safety guidelines specific to the particular issues that arise during collection of information about sexual violence in emergencies are lacking. The ethical and safety guidelines (or recommendations) in this document are meant to complement existing internationally-agreed ethical guidelines for research and to inform ethics review processes. Failure to consider ethical and safety issues can result in harm to the physical, psychological and social well-being of those who participate and can even put lives at risk.
Pas seulement des victimes: Les femmes en situation d’urgence et lors de désastres
Author:
Women and Health Care Reform
This piece argues that emergency planners, government relief agencies and community-based organizations would benefit from applying a gender-based analysis to their work. The authors state that by understanding the particular ways that women are likely to be affected by a disaster or an emergency and the contributions that women typically make to coping with and recovering from such events, we can ensure that our communities are better prepared to manage should the worst happen.
