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The World Health Organization today launched its Policy on Prevention and Response to Sexual Misconduct [*] (in English) which is centered on victims and survivors, which sets strict standards of zero tolerance and emphasizes that there can be “no excuse” for sexual misconduct.
The new policy replaces a 2017 policy, which investigations and audits found had gaps that prevented it from adequately addressing issues faced by victims and survivors of sexual misconduct.
“The suffering of survivors of the heinous cases of sexual misconduct that occurred during the response to the tenth outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the DRC was the trigger for a profound transformation in the approach followed by WHO to prevent the and address sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment,” said Dr.r Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. “This new policy builds on the work we have already done to implement the Independent Commission’s recommendations, and is critically important to making ‘zero tolerance’ a reality, not just a slogan. »
This policy applies to WHO staff and associates (consultants, contractors, partners) in places where WHO operates, and sets out six minimum standards to protect anyone who experiences sexual misconduct including staff or WHO collaborators would be guilty.
The policy sets out the individual responsibilities of staff members, administrators and the Organization as a whole to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct, and provides several reporting options that ensure confidentiality for victims. and to survivors. You do not have to be a direct or indirect beneficiary of WHO to be recognized as a victim or survivor of sexual misconduct.
“With this new policy, we want to ensure that our staff and implementing partners do not harm the people we serve or those we work with,” said Dr. Gaya M. Gamhewage, Director of the Prevention and Response to Sexual Misconduct (PRS) Department. “In the future, we want no victim to be neglected or deprived of support; that no perpetrator goes unpunished; that no member of staff has any excuse for committing a fault or not reacting; and that no partner is exempted from meeting our standards. »
The new policy is a key part of the comprehensive program the WHO is putting in place to respond to the findings of the Independent Commission established by the WHO Director-General in 2020 to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation. during the response to the tenth outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
WHO has established a US$2 million Survivor Assistance Fund for 2022-2023 to provide services to victims and survivors, including medical assistance, counselling, mental health and case management support, legal support, socio-economic reintegration support and income-generating activity training.
WHO has also made substantial investments to strengthen the Organization’s core capacities to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct and to catch up on the backlog in investigating cases of sexual misconduct. The backlog has been cleared and the investigations team has set a normal deadline of 120 days to complete investigations into any new allegations of sexual misconduct or other forms of abusive behavior. The WHO now publishes a dashboard listing completed investigations and disciplinary actions taken in cases of sexual misconduct.
OMS
