Humanitarian workers can be disciplined or even fired for unacceptable behavior regarding sex. These are the rules they must follow:
- Humanitarian workers are prohibited from having sexual relations with anyone under the age of 18, even if it is legal in their country. Claiming that they did not know the person’s true age is not a valid excuse.
- Humanitarian workers must not pay for sex with money, labor, goods or services, including goods and services intended to help people in need. They must not use these promises to induce others to accept behavior that degrades or exploits them. This includes paying or offering money for sex with a prostitute.
- Humanitarian workers have influence over who receives goods and services, giving them power over those in need. For this reason, humanitarian organizations strongly advise their workers not to have sexual relationships with people affected by a humanitarian emergency. Such relationships make humanitarian aid appear less honest and credible.
- If a humanitarian worker is concerned or suspects that someone in his or her organization or another humanitarian organization is violating humanitarian rules on sexual conduct, he or she must report it in accordance with the procedures established by his or her agency.
- Humanitarian workers must create and maintain a work environment that prevents unacceptable sexual conduct and encourages employees to behave in accordance with their code of conduct. All managers have a responsibility to support and develop systems that maintain this environment.
The IASC Principles on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse are available here: http://www.pseataskforce.org/uploads/tools/sixcoreprinciplesrelatingtosea_iasc_english.doc This plain language version was developed in collaboration between the IASC Working Group on Accountability to Affected Populations and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Translators Without Borders.
