Governing sexual behaviour through humanitarian codes of conduct.
Since 2001, there has been a growing consensus that sexual exploitation and abuse of intended beneficiaries by humanitarian workers is a real and widespread problem that requires governance. Codes of conduct have been promoted as a key mechanism for governing the sexual behaviour of humanitarian workers and, ultimately, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). This article presents a systematic study of PSEA codes of conduct adopted by humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and how they govern the sexual behaviour of humanitarian workers. It draws on Foucault's analytics of governance and speech act theory to examine the findings of a survey of references to codes of conduct made on the websites of 100 humanitarian NGOs, and to analyse some features of the organisation-specific PSEA codes identified.
PhD student, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.
Stephanie
S
Matti
D000533:Altruism; D032781:Codes of Ethics; D006801:Humans; D009938:Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012066:Relief Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000517:prevention & control*
PSEA; accountability; code of conduct; governance; humanitarian; sexual abuse; sexual exploitation