Actions taken:
In line with our pledge, the Australian Government has taken sustained action since 2019 to help prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH) in our development and humanitarian programs. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Preventing Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH) Policy applies to all DFAT staff and across all our business – and sets expectations for conduct, reporting, risk management, recruitment and screening, and training. It requires mandatory reporting of any suspected or alleged SEAH concerns.
In addition to regularly sharing PSEAH knowledge, guidance notes and delivering training to staff on policy obligations and briefing to partners, DFAT publicly reports on the number of internal and external incidents of SEAH in our Annual Report. DFAT also publishes external data in the UK’s FCDO’s Cross-Sector Safeguarding Steering Group Annual Progress Report (CSSG) each year and has provided input into the UN Office of the Special Coordinator on improving United Nations Response to SEA report (2024).
PSEAH and child protection obligations are embedded into all our contractual arrangements with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement organisations, including all National Societies and the Australian Red Cross. In line with this, safeguarding and PSEAH policies have been widely implemented across National Societies and are supported by risk registers and Movement-wide safeguarding networks. For example, of the nine national societies supported by Australian Red Cross through the DFAT partnership – Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste and Vanuatu – all have focal points nominated for PSEAH. Fraud and safeguarding risks continue to be incorporated into Movement partner risk registers and ‘The Global Safeguarding Network’ was established in 2023.
