Senior Leaders Endorse Steps to Protect Staff and Local Communities
WASHINGTON (March 28, 2018) – CARE joined InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in every developing country in the world, in announcing a pledge signed by more than 110 members to improve our efforts to prevent sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment by and of NGO staff.
The pledge stems from the work of leaders within InterAction’s member organizations since December 2017, to address sexual abuse and exploitation within the international NGO community. While many international nonprofits began work on the prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation nearly a decade ago, changing cultural conversations sparked the need for more robust action. The pledge represents a public commitment to practices and policies that will not only protect the staff of the participating organization, but also the communities they serve.
“We recognize the long-term effects that sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment have on individuals and work cultures, and this pledge sets out a series of promises from NGOs leaders. We commit to strengthening the implementation of the policies we have already, and to work together to find common solutions to the challenges that remain, such as preventing perpetrators from re-employment within our community,” said InterAction President Lindsay Coates, who also serves as a co-champion for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse for the UN’s Inter-Agency Standing Committee.
In addition to urging action to establish work environments free from sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment by and of aid workers, the pledge calls for establishing a reporting culture within InterAction organizations that supports confidential reporting of all allegations of misconduct, with regular updates to the CEOs. The full pledge can be found on the InterAction website.
ABOUT CARE
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year, CARE worked in 94 countries and reached more than 80 million people around the world. To learn more, please visit www.care.org.
ABOUT INTERACTION
InterAction is the largest U.S. alliance of international nongovernmental organizations. Our members work with local communities to overcome poverty and suffering by helping to improve their quality of life. Visit www.interaction.org.
Media Contacts
Nicole Ellis, +1-202-560-1791, nicole.ellis@care.org; Brian Feagans, +1-404-457-4644, bfeagans@care.org