U.N. received 31 sexual abuse allegations from July–Sept

CAIRO – 4 November 2017: Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, told press on Friday that the United Nations received 31 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) from July to September.

Dujarric explained the nature of the allegations and said that some of them were not verified, while some are going through an assessment phase. He also pointed out that 12 of these allegations were reported by peacekeeping operations and 19 by agencies, funds and programs. Also, he added that 10 were categorized as sexual abuse, 19 as sexual exploitation and two were of an unknown nature. He said that 14 investigations have been launched during this timeframe and that the U.N. is looking into preparing such an update quarterly.

Moreover, Dujarric said that 12 of these allegations occurred in 2017, two in 2016, and six in 2015 or prior, while 11 have unknown dates. He also spoke about the perpetrators’ and victims’ gender, saying that 38 alleged perpetrators were male, while 72 percent of the victims were women and 19 percent girls.

On actions taken to prevent and respond to SEA, Dujarric said that the U.N. is piloting a “Victims Assistance Protocol” to set the roles and responsibilities of those on the ground and to ensure coordination to provide immediate assistance. He also highlighted that the most recent voluntary contributions from member states to the Trust Fund to support victims of sexual exploitation and abuse will rise to $1.5 million.

Furthermore, Dujarric told the press that the secretary-general instructed the heads of all entities to provide action plans and risk analyses to commit the leadership to the fight against SEA. In addition, a mandatory training for all U.N. personnel prior to deployment has been launched, and a unified incident report form has been mainstreamed to ensure appropriate investigative action is undertaken and to improve data collection.

At the same press meeting, Jane Connors, U.N. advocate for the rights of victims of SEA, made her first press briefing, where she said, “I'm the first prong of the full-pronged strategy of the secretary-general to address sexual exploitation and abuse system-wide.”

Connors highlighted that her role is to give those who have suffered visibility and to amplify their voices through connecting with them personally to support rebuilding their lives. In her speech, the U.N. advocate for SEA victims called on donors to contribute to the Trust Fund for SEA victims so that the U.N. can help victims rebuild their lives and seek justice.

Jane Connors is an Australian law professional and long-term human rights advocate. She was appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutierrez as the U.N. advocate for SEA victims. Her appointment comes in line with the secretary-general’s pledge made in his report on special measures for protection from SEA, in which the U.N. puts the rights and dignity of victims at the center of its interventions and programs. Since her appointment, Connors has participated in a number of important events related to violence against women, including the high-level meeting on the prevention of SEA held in New York on September 18.

Since her appointment on September 14, Connors visited the Central African Republic (CAR) for two weeks to meet with SEA victims. She is also planning to work with field advocates and visit other locations, including Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, as well as other locations that might be added in the future.