Devex’s #AidToo coverage, launched in 2017 in the wake of the global #MeToo movement, has highlighted the prevalence of sexual violence in the global development sector. Eighty six percent of employees report knowing a colleague who has experienced work-related sexual harassment or assault, according to recent research.
In line with these movements, employees in the international development sector have wanted to see changes, starting with their own organizations, explained Brooke Galloway, founder of SAPRI Consulting, a firm working with businesses across all sectors and NGOs on sexual assault prevention and response.
Statistically speaking, in every organization, there will be members of staff who are victims of sexual violence, she explained, and when staff are assigned posts in places that are far from home, with different and sometimes oppressive laws and stigmas around sexual violence, the organization has a duty of care. It is the organization’s responsibility to provide the information and have the protocols in place that keep its people safe, she added.