Sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in humanitarian contexts

Considerable investment has been made in recent years to address sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment by aid workers in the humanitarian sector. However, such sexual misconduct remains a persistent, complex challenge with wide-ranging impacts, including on sexual health, for individuals and communities hosting humanitarian responses. This article considers the state of research regarding sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in humanitarian contexts, and identifies gaps in the evidence base necessary for reinforcing prevention and response efforts. We first report what we know about sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, including its impacts on sexual health, risk factors and the permissive enabling organizational cultures. We then identify several critical knowledge gaps that must be addressed for more effective future strategies and approaches to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. We discuss system-wide knowledge gaps, such as lack of evidence on programming approaches and effectiveness of prevention and accountability mechanisms. We explore potential options that health-care programming provides for preventing and responding to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. We also describe population-level knowledge gaps, including in patterns of perpetration and specific challenges faced by marginalized groups. We conclude with reflections for a future integrated research and policy agenda.