Preface

Sexual and gender-based violence is a worldwide problem. Refugees and internally displaced people are particularly at risk of this violation of their human rights during every phase of the refugee cycle. Rape -one of the most extreme forms of sexual violence - occurs in every society, country and region. Rape as a weapon of war is well documented, as is rape of refugees.

Over the past five years, humanitarian agencies have been working to put in place systems to respond to sexual and gender-based violence as well as to support community-based efforts to prevent such violence. In March 2001, the international humanitarian community came together to document what had been done and what is still needed to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence towards refugees. Hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 160 representatives of refugee, nongovernmental, governmental and intergovernmental organizations met in Geneva to share experiences and lessons learned. This document is an outcome of that conference. It was produced under the leadership of the World Health Organization's Department of Reproductive Health and Research, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

A draft of this guide was distributed in a variety of settings around the world and field-tested at several sites. Feedback from these field-tests has been included in the current revision. This version will be circulated more widely and its use in the field evaluated over a period of one to two years before being revised. Comments on its use will be welcome.