Preventing and responding to sexual misconduct: WHO’s three-year strategy 2023-2025
Overview
The three-year strategy (2023-2025) is the Organization’s framework for institutionalizing zero tolerance for all forms of sexual misconduct – sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual violence. It aims to ensure that our personnel and implementing partners do no harm to the people we serve or the people we serve alongside with, and shifts the Organization to a stronger victim- and survivor-centred approach.
The prevention of and response to sexual misconduct is a core responsibility for the Organization and requires individual personnel, managers and leaders, and the Organization to work towards one single goal of zero tolerance. This strategy was developed by the WHO Secretariat and incorporates best practice across the UN system, and all WHO Member States were consulted in its finalization.
The three-year strategy draws lessons learnt from the implementation of WHO’s Management Response Plan (MRP) to the report of the Independent commission that examined widespread allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse during the 10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The MRP was closed in December 2022 with 92% of its 150 actions implemented, and the three-year strategy came into effect in January 2023 as the continuation of the long journey to make zero tolerance any form of sexual misconduct a reality and not just a slogan.
