My previous post was about sexual exploitation in the aid industry. If you didn’t read it, I very briefly related the long history of scandals of sexual exploitation and abuse of power in the industry, leaving many cases out in an attempt to limit the word count. I painted a very dire picture of the state of things and I questioned the idea of ICT as a tool to fight the wide spread occurrence of sexual abuse in the aid industry. The conclusion of my reasoning was that before ICT can be used as a tool, systemic change needs to take place within the industry and a cultural shift needs to take place in which perpetrators are actually held accountable¹.
This is a common belief within the international aid community and there are organizations working to end the practical impunity of international aid personnel when committing crimes of sexual nature and abuse of power. One of these organizations is Aids Free World. Back in 2015 they launched the campaign Code Blue to bring attention to the deeply rooted problem of sexual exploitation and power abuse committed by UN peacekeeping staff towards local communities and end the impunity of the perpetrators. The name and the logo of the campaign alludes to the blue helmets that UN peacekeepers wear while on mission. The campaign is focused on, but not limited to, UN peacekeepers as they have identified that part of the UN as especially salient when it comes to stories of sexual exploitation².
…bring attention to the deeply rooted problem of sexual exploitation and power abuse committed by UN peacekeeping staff…
The Code Blue Campaign has identified the root cause of the long standing and ongoing problem with sexual exploitation within the UN peacekeeping as twofold. Firstly, it is the actual perpetrators and the culture of misogyny from which their actions stem. Secondly, it is the response of the UN when these crimes are revealed that creates a culture of impunity for the offenders. What creates the culture of impunity is the fact that the UN organizations investigate and manage the offences internally which makes for a non-neutral process when UN personnel is responsible for policing and disciplining colleagues and subordinates. Furthermore, UN immunity is misinterpreted and misused to protect individuals from accountability and legal actions from non UN organizations such as local police and justice system³.
The campaign calls for an end of the misuse of the immunity clause. If a crime is committed by UN personnel they should be held accountable by the local justice system. The problem with this is that many of the UN peacekeeping countries are riddled with conflict and have justice systems that are deemed corrupt and incapable to fairly process such allegations. Therefore, Code Blue calls for an independent special court mechanism with staff appointed by, and reporting to UN member states, in peacekeeping countries that are considered to have an inadequate legal system. The idea is that an independent and transparent mechanism would bring a fairer process for the victims and a more accountability for the perpetrators. The campaign also calls for a temporary independent oversight panel to investigate how all of the different UN organizations respond to claims of sexual exploitation and power abuse⁴.
The Code Blue Campaign Launch, video: The Code Blue Campaign
The campaign puts heavy focus on the accountability of perpetrators which of course is an important aspect in bringing justice to victims and in sending a strong message that the behavior is unlawful and is not tolerated. And I definitely think that this campaign, and what it puts forward, is part of the systemic change that is needed. But only focusing on the repercussions (and only one organization) does not necessarily bring about structural change or shift in attitudes towards sexual exploitation in the international aid industry. And these changes are crucial to prevent the same scandals from repeating themselves over and over again.
The first step, I believe, is to educate the aid personnel. All members of staff, no matter their position should receive mandatory trainings on acceptable behavior in the workplace and in the field with special focus on sexual abuse. Awareness should be brought to inherently imbalanced power structures that prevails between aid workers and the people they are sent out to protect and serve. Organizations must work to understand the structures behind the abuse of power, the misogyny and the racism and start to work against them. They must identify and name the causes of sexual exploitation and abuse of power, and they must make up an exhaustive obligatory educational program. And it needs to be done on a much bigger scale than creating internal regulatory documents or a mandatory online course on the internal web of the organization (you know what I’m talking about).There should also be a change in the demography in the aid industry. Putting more women in high ranking positions, both at the head quarters and out in the field would, together with the other structural changes suggested could pave the way for a cultural shift in the international aid industry making it safer for both personnel and most importantly for the public they are supposed to serve.
What are your thoughts on the wide spread sexual exploitation in the aid industry and what do you believe are the key measures to be taken to tackle them? Please share your thoughts here or on our Facebook page!
References
1. https://wpmu.mau.se/nmict202group3/2020/10/15/can-ict-tackle-sexual-exploitation-in-the-aid-industry/
2. http://www.codebluecampaign.com/
3. http://www.codebluecampaign.com/the-problem
4. http://www.codebluecampaign.com/our-solutions