4Improving reporting
Tackling under-reporting
71.The 2008 Save the Children report, ‘No One to Turn To’, revealed “chronic under-reporting” of abuse. In the words of one teenage girl in Côte d’Ivoire
We have never heard of anyone reporting the cases of abuse.131
ODI told us that “such under-reporting has made data collection on the scale and type of SEA difficult, analysis of the problem inaccurate and remedial measures ill-targeted”.132 The author of the 2008 report, Corinna Csáky, said that “the issue of reporting is vital to tackling this problem as a whole”.133
72.However, the vulnerability and disempowerment of the victims and survivors of abuse in crisis settings create multiple interlocking barriers to reporting. These include:
- Dependency on the abuser
“He’s using the girl, but without him she won’t be able to eat.” (Teenage girl, Cote d’Ivoire)
- Fear of retaliation
“Some children are scared they might be killed by the abuser.” (Young boy, Haiti)
- Fear of being stigmatised
“Your name will be ruined” (Young girl, Cote d’Ivoire)
- Fear of other social consequences, such as being forced to marry the abuser
“The father would try to persuade the man to take the girl as a bride and to pay cattle for her.” (Young girl, South Sudan)134
Sarah Blakemore, Director of Keeping Children Safe, said that barriers to reporting were “fundamentally… about the enormous imbalance of power”.135
73.This power imbalance does not just exist between the perpetrator and the victim of abuse. It also exists in a broader sense between the communities receiving aid and those providing it. This can create wider social pressure on victims and survivors and their families not to report. Corinna Csáky gave the example of a case in South Sudan when, following the death of a victim:
the local government went to her parents and went to the community and said, “Do not take any action because we are worried the humanitarian assistance will go”. Their very strong advice was “Do not speak out. Do not take this forward through any official capacity”.136
74.Despite these barriers, we heard that there are many ways in which reporting mechanisms can be improved. In our meetings at the UN, community-based reporting mechanisms were frequently championed. The importance of providing avenues for reporting that do not require victims and survivors to contact the aid agencies are clear:
The people who are raping us and the people in the office are the same people. (Young girl, Haiti)137
The IRC UK suggested:
An independent body, preferably drawn from local women’s rights organisations or other civil society actors with experience of dealing with violence against women and girls, would be best placed to receive confidential reports from programme beneficiaries and to support them through the necessary investigations, prioritising their safety throughout the process.138
According to Corinna Csáky, child-friendly spaces can also play a role in providing children with an environment in which they are able to talk about abuse.139
75.Helen Evans underscored the importance of providing opportunities for victims and survivors to disclose the abuse verbally:
It is really important to have a face to talk to. It is really, really important, because you are potentially putting your life in that person’s hands, because it is a really dangerous thing, in many of the countries that aid countries operate in, to disclose sexual violence. You really have to have a lot of trust.140
76.She also stressed the need to be proactive:
That was the key focus of the safeguarding strategy that I authored: that we need to move from a reactive approach—because if you are reactive you are always going to get a small number of incidents—to a proactive approach where you actually engage, reach out and help to empower and support people to come forward.141
The case for proactively seeking reports, as opposed to waiting to receive them, is clear. The research conducted by Corinna Csáky for the 2008 report shows the level of abuse that can be uncovered when organisations are looking for it. As Steve Reeves said: “if you actively provide people with the opportunity to disclose, they are more likely to do that”.142
77.Corinna Csáky emphasised the value of feeding back to victims and survivors about what action has been taken, as a lack of confidence in the value of reporting can also dissuade victims from bringing an allegation:
If a case is reported, the fact that nothing happens can put people off coming forward (Father, Cote d’Ivoire)143
78.IRC UK agreed that “reporting mechanisms which do not provide feedback about the outcome of the investigation to those who reported are unlikely to be seen as effective and reliable by the affected population.144
79.Corinna Csáky also suggested that a wider programme of education for children about their rights would encourage reporting: “Many of them said, ‘If we knew about our rights we would know how to stand up for them’”.145 This should come hand in hand with programmes that address sexual and gender-based violence in the wider community. Ms Csáky said:
tackling this problem by the aid sector is absolutely integrated with tackling the problem in those communities as a whole… It is happening by people in the local communities, businessmen, teachers, as well as people associated with the aid sector. I suppose from the perspective of victims and survivors, they described how they are growing up in a context where this is normal.
The conclusion one can draw from that is, in order to do something about it, you have to also tackle the broader context and invest in addressing the drivers of this abuse. As we have seen, these humanitarian workers are not operating in a vacuum. Many of them come from these local communities. The fact that they are being supported by aid money from overseas means we bear some responsibility.146
80.Corinna Csáky stressed that there are practitioners within the aid sector who have made “leaps and bounds” in developing solutions for overcoming barriers to reporting.147 We heard that some guidance on establishing complaint response mechanisms is already included in the Core Humanitarian Standard148 and the IASC PSEA Task Force offers resources that contain “guidance on creating trusted mechanisms that help combat the barrier of the power imbalances”.149 It seems that best practice could be consolidated, however, with World Vision inviting “internationally coordinated action that will encourage and support greater beneficiary reporting”.150
81.Fundamentally, though, effective reporting mechanisms require resources. Corinna Csáky told us that the “two decades of recommendations” that have been amassed by the aid sector for how to improve reporting have fallen down in their implementation due to a lack of funding and political commitment: “There is definitely hope. It is just a question of prioritisation”.151 When resources are invested, the impact quickly becomes apparent. Helen Evans said:
In Oxfam, there is a direct correlation between the investment in resources and the number of reports. When I first started, we had 12 reports, the next year it went to 19, then it was 39 and I understand there are over 80 now. That just shows that the more resource that you have, the more people are going to come forward; it is not that there are more incidents; it is just that you are getting on top of that under-reporting.152
Kevin Watkins corroborated this, telling the Committee that Save the Children’s improvements to reporting mechanisms were reflected in the increased numbers of reports.153
82.Alongside increased investment, we heard that there must be recognition from donors that, in the words of a senior representative of UNDP, “the numbers of reports will go up before they go down”.154 Several aid organisations stressed to us that an increase in the numbers of reports received from beneficiaries should be understood by donors as an indicator of improved systems, not of more incidents155 and in fact, “large agencies that never identify a single case of abuse should be questioned about the efficacy of their systems”.156
83.Additionally, we were told that support must be provided for those who do report. The World Bank said: “make sure all arrangements to support potential survivors are in place before a survivor is identified”.157 In a joint submission, Rape Crisis and Equality Now wrote that:
Given the low incidence of reporting it is essential that anyone who does speak out about sexual abuse or exploitation should be afforded independent advocacy and support from a specialist in sexual violence and its impacts158
The importance of this is underlined by the fact that in 2008, Corinna Csáky found that there was a striking lack of support provided to those who did come forward: “Very few people in Haiti, in Côte d’Ivoire and Southern Sudan had ever heard of a victim receiving medical, legal, psychosocial or financial support. In fact, not once was this ever voluntarily mentioned to be a necessary requirement of the response”.159
84.Should the reporting mechanisms fail for whatever reason, we heard that whistleblowing procedures can “provide an important safety net” for survivors, or, perhaps more likely, witnesses of abuse.160 It seems that this is an area with room for improvement. DFID expressed their concern in the High Level Summary of assurance returns that 55 organisations had not referred to whistleblowing policies.161 We note that whistleblowing systems, to be effective, need to be as accessible as possible. Crown Agents have explained why this is not straightforward, and accessibility requires thoughtful consideration:
Crown Agents’ hotline is free-to-use from virtually every location in the world, calls from some countries however require access to an in-country operator to reverse calls and whilst our service offers the opportunity to articulate concerns in a huge range of languages it does not cover all regional or indigenous dialects. The platforms through which concerns can be raised may not necessarily be available to the communities we serve. Access to internet and mobile phone services remain limited, especially amongst our project beneficiaries. Crown Agents also recognises that the act of whistleblowing takes significant courage, particularly if poor or disempowered individuals or more junior employees wish to flag a concern against someone who could represent access to vital resources or be in a position of influence within a project or organisation.162
85.Evidence we received from UN whistleblowers illuminated why whistleblowing systems should not exist without robust protections for those who use them.163 For example, Caroline Hunt-Matthes, an independent investigator and former UN staff member told us how, after reporting concerns that staff at UNHCR had obstructed her investigation into an alleged rape by another UNHCR staff member, she was dismissed from her post in 2004. Her request for protection against retaliation was denied by the UN Ethics Office.164 The case was only settled in June 2018.165
86.According to DFID, some of the organisations who submitted assurances had “a no retaliation/no reprisal clause” in their whistleblowing policies, but this does not seem to be the case across the board.166 We also heard, once again, that policies are only effective to the extent that they are properly implemented. It is therefore encouraging to see that part of the follow-up to the Safeguarding Summit will involve “a systematic audit of whistleblowing practices across the sector to ensure individuals feel able to report offences”.167
87.Improving reporting of SEA is vital to understanding the problem, responding to it, and ultimately, to preventing it. Aid organisations and donors must consider this an absolute priority. It is galling to hear that the main obstacle to progress in this area has been a lack of funding. This cannot continue.
88.Donors, and in particular DFID, must provide funds to support the implementation of reporting mechanisms as well as a broader programme of initiatives to increase understanding of rights and tackle sexual and gender-based violence more widely. There must also be provision of support services for those who do come forward and report abuse. Alongside this, donors must acknowledge and communicate their understanding of the fact that an increase in the number of reports of SEA will be considered an indicator of improved reporting mechanisms.
89.We welcome the fact that one of the four working groups established after the Safeguarding Summit is focused on reporting. In all efforts to improve reporting of SEA, there needs to be an understanding of the extreme vulnerability of the people who are being asked to report.
90.The working group must ensure that this is at the heart of any recommendations they make on improving reporting mechanisms. Recommendations should also recognise the value of a proactive approach to gathering reports, involving outreach and the creation of spaces where victims and survivors feel they can talk about abuse.
91.We welcome the fact that there will be a systematic audit of whistleblowing practices across the sector.
92.Accessibility of whistleblowing systems and protections for the people who use them should be key aspects of this. The remit of the audit should go beyond an examination of what exists at the policy level, and should test the extent to which systems and protections are working effectively.
Handling reports once received
93.We have already outlined the potential risk of exposing victims and survivors to further harm if, on receiving a report of SEA, aid organisations always refer these to relevant authorities. The possibility of exposing victims and survivors to harm should not just be a consideration when it comes to referring potential crimes. We heard from the International Rescue Committee that even just the act of data collection carries risks for the victims and survivors, including retaliation, stigmatisation and breaches of confidentiality.168 NGOs have told us they would welcome further guidance on this, both in relation to referrals of potential crimes,169 and on common standards for reporting, investigating and following-up cases of SEA more generally.170 We note that the participants of the Safeguarding Summit agreed on “the vital role of establishing clear guidelines for referring incidents, allegations and offenders to relevant authorities”171 DFID told us that they are working towards being able to provide clearer guidelines by October 2018, based on the findings of the working group on reporting established at the Safeguarding Summit in March.172
94.Our evidence has highlighted the importance of ensuring that any investigations are robust, and led by properly skilled investigators. Helen Evans said:
It is absolutely critical that we get the investigators who have experience of handling disclosures of rape. It is really risky and dangerous not to, because you risk re-traumatising people and you risk compromising evidence that may be used in a future criminal case. That is critical.173
Caroline Hunt-Matthes, drawing on her experience at the United Nations, also said that investigators should have proper training in this field.174 Helen Evans’ submission to the Committee recommended that DFID should establish a “gold standard for safeguarding investigations including a professional qualification for safeguarding investigators”.175
95.The lack of clear, best practice guidelines for how to handle reports of SEA once they have been received, both in terms of conducting an investigation, and referring potential crimes to relevant authorities, leaves organisations ill-equipped, and victims and survivors at risk. We welcome DFID’s commitment to provide clearer best practice guidelines on referring potential crimes to relevant authorities, based on the findings of the working group focused on improving reporting.
96.DFID’s Safeguarding Unit can play a role in communicating these widely. The Safeguarding Unit should also set and communicate best practice standards for robust, victim-centred investigations, led by specialist investigators.
131 Save the Children, No One to Turn To: the under-reporting of child sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers and peacekeepers (2008)
134 The experiences of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse: Presentation by Corinna Csáky, author of 2008 report presents victim and survivor testimonies
137 The experiences of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse: Presentation by Corinna Csáky, author of 2008 report presents victim and survivor testimonies
143 The experiences of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse: Presentation by Corinna Csáky, author of 2008 report presents victim and survivor testimonies
154 See Annex 1
157 See Annex 1
161 Department for International Development, High Level Summary: Safeguarding Assurance Returns from UK Charities, accessed 24 July 2018
165 “Whistleblower wins 15-year battle after UN sacked her over rape claim”, The Times, 6 June 2018
166 Department for International Development, High Level Summary: Safeguarding Assurance Returns from UK Charities, accessed 24 July 2018
167 Department for International Development, ‘Actions to tackle exploitation and abuse agreed with UK charities’, 5 March 2018
171 Department for International Development, ‘Actions to tackle exploitation and abuse agreed with UK charities’, 5 March 2018
Published: 31 July 2018