The climate emergency is contributing to an unprecedented 828 million hungry people across the world, along with Covid-19, conflict and rising costs. As a result, many are reliant on urgent humanitarian food assistance to try and alleviate their hunger.
Women and girls are deeply affected, with nearly 32 percent moderately or severely food insecure in 2021, compared to less than 28 percent of men. Food insecurity has been found to be linked to gender-based violence. Sexual exploitation and abuse are used by those in a position of power in the aid sector, typically against those involved in a intervention programme, or a vulnerable member of the community.
A recent report from the Knowledge Evidence and Learning for Development (K4D) Programme explores the evidence on sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in the food security sector. Here is what we found.
Underreporting and lack of focus on food security
Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) is widely underreported across the aid sector. There has been little specific focus on SEA in relation to the food security sector, with organisational reporting not often specifying the sector in which it occurred. Cases of SEA relating to food insecurity – by food security actors themselves and others in the aid and peacekeeping systems – have occurred in a range of countries including: Guinea, Liberia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, northern Uganda, Burundi, North-East Nigeria, Mozambique, Lebanon, Syria, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia.
The risk factors
Hunger and food insecurity have been found to increase women and girls’ vulnerability to sexual exploitation in exchange for food, including engaging in transactional sex. Social norms, gender inequality, childcare responsibilities, poverty, and other barriers mean that their access to livelihood opportunities and ability to earn money to buy food is limited and they are in positions of reduced power in relation to those in control of food distribution, who are most often men.
They are at particular risk of exposure to sexual exploitation and abuse around the search for food and access to food aid. Risky moments in relation to SEA in the food security process are most likely to occur during the compiling of food distribution lists, registration, distribution, and transport home. This is as some aid workers, local officials, and others use their power over food access to take advantage of those in need. SEA in relation to food is also committed by other aid workers or peacekeepers operating in places where food insecurity exists, and people are desperate for food.
Particular risks relating to sexual exploitation and abuse and food security have been found to include gender inequality; hunger and poverty; displacement; lack of support systems; chaotic and food insecure humanitarian settings; power imbalances; lack of clarity around entitlement and distribution of food aid; and insufficient food rations.
The most vulnerable
Those at particular risk of experiencing sexual exploitation and abuse are the young (children and adolescent girls) and female heads of households (widows, divorced and single women). A study in Syria found that female-headed household are almost five times more likely than male-headed households to be asked for physical or emotional relationships in exchange for assistance, for example.
While more is known about the risks faced by women and girls there have been also cases of boys being exploited and abused in exchange for food.
Shame and stigma
Shame, stigma and the fear losing the food they need to survive are part of the enabling environment for abuse that silences survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse. Other powerful deterrents include lack of clarity or faith in reporting mechanisms, lack of support from families or communities, the normalisation of sexual exploitation and abuse, and confusion around the identity of the perpetrator. The fear and traumatic experience of sexual exploitation and abuse can also put some women off accessing the food assistance they need, increasing their food insecurity and putting them at risk of other forms of gender-based violence.
Protecting people from sexual exploitation and abuse
Despite the risks in the food security sector, sexual exploitation and abuse risk analysis and management policies and tools are generally more generic rather than specifically related to food security. This is the case even for the publicly available Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) resources that some of the main food security actors have produced.
However, recent research in Lebanon and Uganda has looked at incorporating recommendations from women and girls to reduce risk of SEA in food distributions. The resulting adaptions, which included more female staff, small group distributions at preassigned times, and home delivery, resulted in women feeling safe and having less fear around food distributions.
Food security actors should learn from existing recommendations developed by women and girls on how to make food distribution processes safer and minimise opportunities for exploitation and abuse by aid and non-aid actors.