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Empowered Aid Particpatory Action Research Workshops Curriculum And Facilitation Guide Cover

The Empowered Aid Workshop Guide is a feminist training framework that equips refugee women and girls to act as "contextual safeguarding experts." Using low-literacy visual tools like Power Mapping and GBV Problem Trees, the curriculum deconstructs the power imbalances that lead to sexual exploitation in aid delivery. The workshop transforms participants into a proactive research team capable of identifying physical "hotspots" of risk through community mapping while ensuring immediate safety through established confidential referral pathways.

Empowered Aid Participatory Action Research Toolkit

The Empowered Aid: Participatory Action Research (PAR) Toolkit (2020) is a comprehensive set of resources designed to engage refugee women and girls as "contextual safeguarding experts." Developed by the Global Women’s Institute (GWI) in partnership with CARE (Lebanon) and the IRC (Uganda), this toolkit was created to identify and mitigate risks of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) within humanitarian aid distribution.

Empowered Aid Transforming Gender And Power Dynamics In The Delivery Of Humanitarian Aid

The Empowered Aid Lebanon Results Report (January 2020) reveals how aid delivery—specifically cash, shelter, WASH, and food—creates systemic risks for sexual exploitation. Syrian refugee women identified that "gatekeepers," including aid workers, landlords, and taxi drivers, often demand sexual favors in exchange for registration, home repairs, or transport. To strip perpetrators of this power, the report advocates for contextual safeguarding: a structural redesign of aid that centers women’s expertise, prioritizes female-led distribution teams, and provides safe transit and ATM literacy.

Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children

Working Paper 528 (April 2020) identifies nine pathways where pandemics—like COVID-19, Ebola, and Zika—trigger a "shadow pandemic" of violence against women and children. Key drivers include economic insecurity, social isolation during lockdowns, and the de-prioritization of support services as health systems pivot to virus response. To mitigate these risks, the authors argue that governments must classify domestic violence services as essential, scale up gender-sensitive cash transfers, and integrate women’s safety into the heart of emergency planning.

Empowered Aid: Reducing Risks Of Sexual Exploitation And Abuse In Aid Distribution Uganda

The Empowered Aid Uganda COVID-19 Update (April 2020) emphasizes that the pandemic significantly worsened the risk of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) for refugee women and girls. As resources became scarce and movement was restricted, existing power imbalances between aid providers and recipients intensified. Critically, COVID-19 safety measures—like social distancing—disrupted the primary protective strategies women already used, such as traveling in groups or having "buddies" present during aid worker home visits.

Empowered Aid: Reducing Risks Of Sexual Exploitation And Abuse In Aid Distribution Lebanon

The Empowered Aid COVID-19 Update (April 2020) warns that the pandemic and its containment measures significantly heighten the risk of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) for refugee women and girls. As resources become scarcer and movement is restricted, existing power imbalances are exploited by those controlling access to health and aid. Crucially, social distancing makes traditional safety strategies—like moving in groups or having a "buddy" during home visits—nearly impossible to execute.

Empowered Aid: Reducing Risks Of Sexual Exploitation And Abuse In Aid Distribution

The Empowered Aid Lebanon report identifies that sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) are systemic risks where aid actors, landlords, and taxi drivers trade life-saving resources for sexual favors. These risks permeate every stage of delivery, from registration and home repairs to the "rent-for-sex" traps set by landlords. To fix this, the study calls for contextual safeguarding: redesigning aid through women-led teams, safe transport, and ATM literacy training to strip perpetrators of their gatekeeping power.

Empowered Aid: Reducing Risks Of Sexual Exploitation And Abuse In Food Distribution

The Empowered Aid policy brief (January 2020) for Lebanon highlights how food distribution systems create specific risks for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) among Syrian refugee women and girls in Tripoli. The study reveals that the power imbalance between aid providers and recipients is frequently exploited at multiple stages of the aid cycle.

Empowered Aid: Reducing Risks Of Sexual Exploitation And Abuse In Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene (Wash) Distribution

This Empowered Aid policy brief (January 2020) highlights the risks of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) within the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Despite a shift toward cash and centralized services, roughly 1.5 million people still rely on material WASH assistance, creating power imbalances that are frequently exploited by those in charge of delivery and maintenance.

Empowered Aid: Reducing Risks Of Sexual Exploitation And Abuse In Shelter Distribution

This Empowered Aid policy brief (January 2020) highlights how shelter assistance in Lebanon—ranging from home repairs to rent support—creates specific opportunities for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) against Syrian refugee women and girls.