14 Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Distribution of Humanitarian Aid
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Alina Potts
Abstract
For over two decades, the aid community has expressed shock when large-scale abuses have come to light – from the widespread abuse of children by peacekeepers and aid workers brought to light in West Africa in 2002 to the abuse by World Health Organization and NGO staff responding to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, uncovered by journalists in 2020. It is clear that those sent to help people affected by conflict and disaster can sometimes harm them. Why, despite efforts to hold offending individuals and organizations accountable, does it persist? Unequal power on the basis of heteronormative gender roles – with men generally having more access to and control over resources than women – is a root cause of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and other forms of gender-based violence. These power imbalances are further entrenched in systems of humanitarian aid, in which the people affected by crisis and dependent on aid for their survival have the least say in how it is delivered and the least ability to hold aid actors to account. Displaced women and girls fall at the intersection of these inequities, with their voices often missing even when crisis-affected communities are consulted by aid actors. Yet working with diverse women and girls to shift power and recentre their experiences – and their solutions – is necessary to confront these underlying power imbalances and address the root causes of SEA.
Abstract
For over two decades, the aid community has expressed shock when large-scale abuses have come to light – from the widespread abuse of children by peacekeepers and aid workers brought to light in West Africa in 2002 to the abuse by World Health Organization and NGO staff responding to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, uncovered by journalists in 2020. It is clear that those sent to help people affected by conflict and disaster can sometimes harm them. Why, despite efforts to hold offending individuals and organizations accountable, does it persist? Unequal power on the basis of heteronormative gender roles – with men generally having more access to and control over resources than women – is a root cause of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and other forms of gender-based violence. These power imbalances are further entrenched in systems of humanitarian aid, in which the people affected by crisis and dependent on aid for their survival have the least say in how it is delivered and the least ability to hold aid actors to account. Displaced women and girls fall at the intersection of these inequities, with their voices often missing even when crisis-affected communities are consulted by aid actors. Yet working with diverse women and girls to shift power and recentre their experiences – and their solutions – is necessary to confront these underlying power imbalances and address the root causes of SEA.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures and Tables v
- List of Abbreviations vi
- Notes on Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction: Two Decades of Dealing with Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid 1
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Where We’ve Been: The Origins and Scope of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Reflections on 20-Plus Years of Protection from SEA Work 19
- United Nations Police as a Double-Edged Sword for SEA Accountability 34
- Victims’ Rights and Remedial Action 46
- Sexual Violence against Peacekeepers and Aid Workers 62
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How It’s Going: Implementing and Institutionalizing Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Missing the Mark in PSEA 79
- The Imperative of Prioritizing Victims’ Rights 93
- United Nations Victims’ Rights Statement 108
- Accountability Advocates: Representing Victims 114
- Masculinities and Institutional Blind Spots 130
- Power, Consent and Peacekeeping Economies 143
- Gender, Race, Sexuality and PSEA 156
- ‘We Don’t Have a Word for That’: Issues in Translating PSEA Communication 169
- From ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ to ‘Structural Sensitivity’ 184
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Looking Forward: Where to from Here?
- Agency and Affect in PSEA: Understanding Agency through a Transnational Intersectional Lens 195
- Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Distribution of Humanitarian Aid 207
- Rethinking PSEA: Reflections for Policy Makers 221
- Notes 226
- Index 231
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures and Tables v
- List of Abbreviations vi
- Notes on Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction: Two Decades of Dealing with Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping and Aid 1
-
Where We’ve Been: The Origins and Scope of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Reflections on 20-Plus Years of Protection from SEA Work 19
- United Nations Police as a Double-Edged Sword for SEA Accountability 34
- Victims’ Rights and Remedial Action 46
- Sexual Violence against Peacekeepers and Aid Workers 62
-
How It’s Going: Implementing and Institutionalizing Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Missing the Mark in PSEA 79
- The Imperative of Prioritizing Victims’ Rights 93
- United Nations Victims’ Rights Statement 108
- Accountability Advocates: Representing Victims 114
- Masculinities and Institutional Blind Spots 130
- Power, Consent and Peacekeeping Economies 143
- Gender, Race, Sexuality and PSEA 156
- ‘We Don’t Have a Word for That’: Issues in Translating PSEA Communication 169
- From ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ to ‘Structural Sensitivity’ 184
-
Looking Forward: Where to from Here?
- Agency and Affect in PSEA: Understanding Agency through a Transnational Intersectional Lens 195
- Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Distribution of Humanitarian Aid 207
- Rethinking PSEA: Reflections for Policy Makers 221
- Notes 226
- Index 231
