Gender-based violence (GBV) is a human rights violation but continues to be a reality for women and girls across the world. It has significant and long-lasting impacts on the health and psychological well-being of individuals, families and communities. Women and girls in emergencies face increased risks for sexual violence, intimate partner violence, child marriage, denial of resources and other harmful practices. It is therefore crucial that programming in emergencies is guided by clear standards on how to prevent and respond to GBV.

This resource presents 16 minimum standards for GBV prevention and response in emergencies. These define what agencies working on specialized GBV programming need to achieve to prevent and respond to this type of violence.