USAID Efforts to Prevent Sexual Exploitation & Abuse

When conflict or natural disasters visit people around the globe, hunger and disease are soon to follow. Often, completing an apocalyptic Four Horsemen, these miseries are joined by one that springs from pure, willful evil. These vulnerable communities are preyed upon, sexually exploited by those who use rape as a weapon of war or traffick children and girls. Tragically and unthinkably, it is sometimes those who are supposed to be helping who perpetrate this evil. In the face of this, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is committed to protecting the persecuted and vulnerable and to cutting down this evil horseman of sexual exploitation and abuse.

USAID is enormous and multi-faceted.

Their mission statement says:

On behalf of the American people, we promote and demonstrate democratic values abroad, and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. In support of America’s foreign policy, the U.S. Agency for International Development leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises and progress beyond assistance.

But in addition to the provision of relief and development aid, USAID is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of those they serve from sexual exploitation, trafficking, and other dangers. The agency believes that ongoing and daily vigilance is needed by both USAID’s own staff and the staff of organizations that partner with them. They have created policies to this effect, but also plans for implementing those policies. And they provide numerous resources for preventing sexual exploitation and abuse to the organizations with which they partner.

Even if you do not partner with USAID, you may find their resources helpful if you work with a non-profit organization. It is also reassuring for all of us to know about the integrity in the distribution of our U.S. relief and development aid. And especially, in these dangerous times, to see how USAID is part of a whole-of-government commitment to children

The policy on Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity (APCCA) is a key component of the U.S. Government’s Strategy for International Assistance. This policy includes three refreshingly wise guiding principles:

• Build strong beginnings
• Put family first
• Protect children from violence

In addition, the U.S. Government Interagency Partners have developed an Implementation Plan for the APCCA strategy.

Another helpful resource is the Action Alliance for Preventing Sexual Misconduct. The AAPSM was established by then Administrator Mark Green in March 2018. The goals of this alliance include: working across the globe to protect USAID’s beneficiaries and advance human dignity by preventing sexual exploitation and abuse; elevating the voice of survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation; and reviewing and revising existing policies and procedures to strengthen accountability and compliance.

And in March 2020, USAID rolled out its Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Policy. Of this policy, USAID says it will:

. . . promote a world in which all individuals are able to live and work free from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). For the purposes of this Policy, “sexual exploitation” is any actual or attempted abuse by aid workers of a person in a position of relative vulnerability, for sexual purposes, including profiting monetarily, socially, or politically. “Sexual abuse” is any actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Multiple offices of USAID are committed to this task, not least of which is the agency’s Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. And very shortly USAID will also release a revised Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy. In the meantime, their current policy is available. Fighting against trafficking in persons has been a focus throughout the United States government since the passage of the first Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

Finally, two examples of how these very important policies work outside the theoretical realm, in partnerships. One is demonstrated in an October 6 press release announcing that USAID and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs had launched a Community of Practice on Accountability for Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment. The press statement says:

The Community of Practice unites experts in law, investigations, human resources, capacity-building, organizational culture, and risk-management from a diverse range of organizations to share proven models and identify structural barriers. The Community of Practice will convene virtually throughout the coming months to formulate an agenda for continued cooperation among donors, partners, academics, and the broader aid community-to achieve a future free from sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH).

And another October 6 press release came from Acting Administrator of USAID, John Barsa. Barsa expressed the grave concerns of USAID over allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by personnel employed by international organizations and relief agencies in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He says that the agency is requesting information on what kind of investigation is taking place by the organizations named as being involved. Barsa continues:

We must work constantly to improve the culture of the entire aid sector, so everyone accepts his or her personal responsibility to promote and uphold the safety and dignity of those whom we serve, members of their communities, and our fellow aid and development workers.

USAID is not just checking boxes to fulfill policy requirements. It truly desires to protect children and other vulnerable and defenseless victims of exploitation.