Updated Guidance on Reflecting Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) into the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC), July 2024

• Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is a collective responsibility of the humanitarian community.
• The Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC) constitutes a key tool through which the HC and the HCT operationalize the global IASC commitments on PSEA in county and an opportunity to drive collective engagement on PSEA.

Based on the United Nations Secretary-General’s Bulletin (ST/SGB/2003/13) and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Six Core Principles, all agencies and organisations have established standards of conduct and engagement. The IASC PSEAH Vision and Strategy (2022-26) and the Country Level PSEA Action Plans are important tools to provide guidance on specific priorities based on global progress and gaps. Establishing a collective mechanism and approach to PSEA, including a Code of Conduct, also features among the four non-negotiable priorities of every HCT.(1)

In line with this IASC guidance, each country should have a collective PSEA system in place (2), including an inter-agency PSEA Network, led by an I-A PSEA Coordinator, and a PSEA strategy and associated action plan. The HC and HCT are accountable for delivering on collective PSEA commitments in country. PSEA should be incorporated and institutionalized into humanitarian agencies’ needs assessments, responses, and monitoring and evaluation activities.

The in-country inter-agency PSEA Coordinators (3) constitute the primary source of expertise on collective PSEA. Their proactively supported and engaged on the inclusion of PSEA in all aspects of the Humanitarian Programming Cycle. They need to be engaged early on, by:

  • facilitating their access to inter-agency coordination for to participate in technical decision-making;
  • keeping them informed of key HPC timelines;
  • involving them (and the regional coordinators, if existing) throughout the cycle, including in the HPC workshops and planning meetings to allow good coordination and information exchange and provide inputs;

Where collective PSEA efforts are still nascent, engaging key Agency PSEA Focal Points can help provide an impetus for the acceleration of meaningful engagement on PSEA. Where PSEA action plans and collective commitments are in place, these need to be the centrepiece of PSEA referenced in the HNRP.

(1) The IASC has made this explicit in the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) Compact and the Standard Terms of Reference for HUMANITARIAN COUNTRY TEAMS; see also the IASC PSEA Acceleration Plan, the inter-agency PSEA CountryLevel Framework
(2) See also the 2024 Humanitarian Coordinators Handbook
(3) For more information on their role see the PSEA Coordinators Deployment package and PSEA Coordinator’s ToRs