Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

At WFP, protecting the dignity and safety of the people we serve is non-negotiable. Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) is an abuse of power that destroys trust, harms individuals and undermines humanitarian action. It can occur anywhere, but risks rise sharply in emergencies or when assistance is disrupted – leaving people vulnerable and forcing harmful coping strategies.

Sexual exploitation: Abuse of vulnerability, power or trust for sexual purposes –including financial, social or political gain.
Sexual abuse: Physical intrusion of a sexual nature, actual or threatened, by force or under coercive or unequal conditions.

WFP has zero tolerance for inaction on all forms of SEA. Every employee and partner shares responsibility for creating a safe workplace and ensuring safe, dignified access to assistance. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is a moral imperative for WFP. It is fully integrated across our organization and operations and embedded in our legal framework.

Our approach to PSEA is victim-centred and rooted in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Bulletin, which includes six core principles and defines SEA as “acts of gross misconduct”, constituting grounds for termination of employment.

To operationalize this commitment, WFP works through a network of over 600 PSEA focal points in all regional, country and field offices. These colleagues support prevention, raise awareness among employees and partners, and receive SEA reports directly from victims. All reports are referred to WFP’s internal investigations body (the Office of Inspections and Investigations) for follow-up.

Leading change across the humanitarian system

Through the IASC Championship on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSEAH), WFP leads and strengthens collective action to build a humanitarian system rooted in safety, dignity and accountability.

Executive Director Cindy H. McCain assumed the role of Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Champion in 2024 and extended the Championship through 2025, reaffirming WFP’s commitment to long-term, system-wide change.

The Championship focuses on three priorities:

Operationalizing a victim-survivor-centred approach
Promoting organizational culture change through leadership and partnerships
Supporting continued capacity strengthening across the sector

Learn more about activities and achievements here: IASC Champion on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment.

Our protection from sexual exploitation and abuse work

Strengthening capacity: A key aspect in the prevention and reporting of SEA is awareness. WFP employees and partners are expected be able to define, recognize and respond to SEA, including understanding their obligation to report. They are capacitated through the provision of advice, guidance and tools to do so, thus living WFP’s commitment to a victim-centered approach. Employees are required to complete a mandatory e-learning on PSEA as part of performance evaluation.
Integrating prevention and protection: WFP approaches PSEA in a holistic manner, based on the premise that preventing sexual exploitation and abuse means more than having the right policies in place. For PSEA efforts to be most impactful and effective, WFP mainstreams PSEA concepts, principles and best practices into operations, core learning modules and tools.
Interagency and donor engagement: WFP is an active participant in Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) and UN coordination, at the leadership and technical levels. WFP supports collaborative, coordinated actions, such as: developing PSEA tools for global inter-agency use: an interactive learning package for partners ('Saying No to Sexual Misconduct'); a harmonized screening tool for partners (‘UN Implementing Partner PSEA Capacity Assessment’); a poster package to support communication on PSEA for frontline workers and partners: ( PSEA at the Frontline – Together We Say No - Phase 1 | IASC ); and a poster package to support communication on PSEA with communities: ( PSEA at the Frontline - Together We Say No – Phase 2 | IASC)
Reporting SEA: WFP employees and partners must report any concerns or suspicions of SEA. All reports are confidential and can be made anonymously to WFP’s internal investigations unit, the Office of the Inspector General - OIG, or PSEA Focal Points (who refer matters to OIG). If you have any concerns or suspicions regarding SEA, make a report ‘here’. As part of the UN system-wide approach to PSEA, WFP shares data on allegations with the UN Secretariat. Read ‘more’.
Victim-centred approach: WFP takes a victim-centered approach to its prevention and protection measures against sexual exploitation and abuse. We seek to ensure that victims are provided with support, as needed, at the same time as reports are investigated. We rely on protection partners and strong local referral networks for direct assistance for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. WFP also collaborates with the UN Victims’ Rights Advocate.

Media centre

Resources & data

About

Transparency and accountability

Partnerships

About hunger

Saving lives

Changing lives

Supporting governments

Innovation and digital transformation

Countries

Emergencies

Individual supporters

Companies and start-ups

Partners

Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain explains WFP's commitment to protecting the people we serve.

Leading change across the humanitarian system

Publications

Our protection from sexual exploitation and abuse work

Strengthening capacity

Integrating prevention and protection

Interagency and donor engagement

Reporting SEA

Victim-centred approach

Related topics

In focus

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain explains WFP's commitment to protecting the people we serve.

Leading change across the humanitarian system

Publications

WFP IASC PSEAH Championship