- Apply the four guiding principles of the survivor-centred approach.
- Receive a disclosure and refer safely without being a specialist.
- Know the clinical management of rape and the steps of case management.
1The guiding principles
The survivor-centred approach puts the rights, needs and choices of the person at the centre of every decision. It rests on four principles:
- Safety: the physical and emotional safety of the survivor, her family and staff comes first. The risk of reprisals is assessed before every action.
- Confidentiality: information is shared only with the person's informed consent and only what is necessary. No names in reports, emails or meetings.
- Respect: the survivor decides. She is given all the information, her choices are respected, even those we do not share, and she is not judged.
- Non-discrimination: every person receives the same treatment, regardless of age, disability, status, ethnicity, sexual orientation or the type of violence experienced.
Confidentiality has limits: imminent risk to life, a child at risk, mandatory reporting obligations under the law. They must be explained from the outset, before the person discloses. For children, the principle of the child's best interests also applies.
2Receiving a disclosure without being a specialist
A driver, an enumerator or a distribution officer may receive a disclosure. The IASC GBV Pocket Guide gives them a simple course of action, based on psychological first aid: look, listen, link.
- Find a place where the person feels safe, ask whether she wants someone with her.
- Listen calmly, believe what she says, do not ask about the details of the assault, do not try to find out who the perpetrator is.
- Say simple things: "It is not your fault", "You did the right thing by telling me".
- Give accurate information about the available services (health, psychosocial, safety, legal), their cost, location, opening hours, and what will happen.
- Let the person choose; if she asks, make the link with the service.
What not to do: question her, take detailed notes, take photos, confront the perpetrator, inform the family or leaders without her consent, promise what you cannot deliver. Where there is no GBV actor, the Pocket Guide still asks you to support the person and give her information about the other services available.
3Clinical management of rape
Rape is a medical emergency. According to the WHO, UNFPA and UNHCR guidelines (2020), the survivor must be informed that she can receive free and confidential care, even without filing a complaint:
- HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP): as early as possible, at the latest within 72 hours, for 28 days.
- Emergency contraception: up to 120 hours (5 days), by pill or copper intrauterine device; the earlier, the more effective.
- Presumptive treatment of sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis B and tetanus vaccination depending on vaccination status.
- Wound care, first-line psychological support, referral to mental health services.
- Forensic examination and evidence collection only with consent and if the person is considering legal action; provision of a medical certificate.
Beyond 72 or 120 hours, the survivor is still cared for: testing, STI treatment, pregnancy test, mental health care, counselling on legal pregnancy options. The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for sexual and reproductive health makes this care a priority from the very first days.
4GBV case management
GBV case management is structured support, provided by a trained and supervised social worker, who coordinates services around the survivor. The Inter-Agency Guidelines (2017) describe six steps:
- Introduction and engagement: welcome, presentation of the service, limits of confidentiality, informed consent.
- Assessment of needs and safety.
- Case action plan developed with the survivor, including a safety plan.
- Implementation: direct services and accompanied referrals.
- Follow-up of the situation and of the quality of services received.
- Case closure when goals are met or at the survivor's request.
Quality benchmarks: a caseworker follows 15 to 20 active cases at most (a commonly used reference), receives regular supervision and staff care. Paper files are kept under lock and key, electronic files are password-protected, with codes instead of names.
The case that will not close
Women and girls safe space, urban displacement site
You are a GBV caseworker in a specialised NGO.
Esther (not her real name), 34, a mother of four, has been subjected to violence by her husband for months. Yesterday he threatened her with a knife. She refuses emergency shelter because she does not want to leave her children or lose the family ration registered in her husband's name. Your colleague suggests calling the police.
Decision 1 of 3How do you assess the situation?
Decision 2 of 3Esther refuses shelter. You:
Decision 3 of 3How do you respond to her fear of losing the ration?
Key takeaways
Assess the danger with the survivor, respect her choices, build a safety plan and act on the causes of dependence with minimal information sharing.
Exercise: role-play of a disclosure
In groups of three (one person disclosing, one person receiving, one observer), act out the following situation: during a distribution of hygiene items, a 22-year-old woman tells a female staff member that she was raped two days earlier while fetching water. The staff member is not a GBV specialist. The observer notes which principles are respected or not, unnecessary questions, the information given on PEP (72-hour window) and emergency contraception, and how the survivor's choice is respected.
Key points
- Four principles: safety, confidentiality, respect, non-discrimination.
- Informed consent before any sharing; limits of confidentiality explained from the outset.
- Without being a specialist: look, listen, link; inform and let her choose, do not question.
- Rape: PEP within 72 hours, emergency contraception up to 120 hours; free care even without a complaint.
- Case management: six steps, safety plan, supervision, coded and locked files.
Further reading: course references
- Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) (2015). Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action. gbvguidelines.org
- UNFPA, GBV AoR (2019). Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Programming. www.unfpa.org/minimum-standards
- IASC, GBV Guidelines Reference Group (2018). How to support survivors of gender-based violence when a GBV actor is not available in your area (GBV Pocket Guide). gbvguidelines.org
- WHO, UNFPA, UNHCR (2020). Clinical management of rape and intimate partner violence survivors: developing protocols for use in humanitarian settings. www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240001411
- Gender-Based Violence Information Management System Steering Committee (2017). Interagency Gender-Based Violence Case Management Guidelines. www.gbvims.com
- World Health Organization (2007). WHO ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies. www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241595681
- Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
- GBV AoR, Global Protection Cluster (2024). Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility. gbvaor.net
Daily quiz
3 questions to check what you have learned. Answer them all to complete the day.