It also includes recordings of events featuring experts, policymakers, and Movement representatives addressing SGBV through advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy. These resources equip you to engage credibly with external actors, influence decision-making spaces, advocate for survivor-centered policies, and contribute to global efforts to prevent and respond to SGBV.
Conflict-related Sexual Violence - Report of the UN Secretary General (UNSC, 2025): In 2024, State and non-State actors perpetrated sexual violence as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression against over 4,600 survivors according to the 16th annual Report of the United Nations Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (S/2025/389). This marks a staggering 25 per cent increase from the previous year. The report covers 21 countries for which information verified by the United Nations is available, and conveys the severity and brutality of the scourge of sexual violence, with the highest number of cases recorded in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan.
Research project. Towards Safer Journeys: Migrant women and children’s experiences of separation, going missing or dying. (Global Migration Lab and Central Tracing Agency, 2025)
The Global Migration Lab together with the ICRC Central Tracing Agency’s Red Cross Red Crescent Missing Persons Centre and 17 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies recently undertook qualitative research with migrants, primarily women and children, families of missing migrants and key informants in the Americas, Africa, and Europe (2025).
The reports highlights the pervasive nature of SGBV for migrant women and children during their journeys, with high risks of sexual violence, exploitation, harassment, and trafficking at all stages of migration—origin, transit, borders, and destination, in informal settlements, detention, border crossings, and during reliance on smugglers. It also highlights key barriers to services and care, including lack of safe pathways, fragmentation of services, irregular migration status, poverty, discriminatory norms, and power imbalances
It ends by providing key recommendations on how to enhance integration of GBV prevention and response within migration programmes and policies.
Global Study: Effective law and policy on gender equality and protection from sexual and gender-based violence in disasters (IFRC, 2022): This report aims to help fill a gap in knowledge on the effectiveness of national laws, policies and institutional frameworks in supporting gender equality in disaster risk management (DRM) and in preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in disasters. The reports linked below explore these themes in three case study countries: Zimbabwe, Nepal and Ecuador.
Alone and Unsafe: Children, migration, and sexual and gender-based violence (IFRC, 2018): This study seeks to improve understanding of the risks and types of sexual and gender-based violence faced by children who migrate on their own, as well as the unfortunate and widespread gaps in protection and assistance for these children. It looks closely at the situation in dangerous or remote locations – places that are fragile, conflict-ridden, underserved and hard to reach, where children may be particularly vulnerable.
The responsibility to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence in disasters and crises (IFRC, 2022): This report contributes new evidence on why and how sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) 1 risks increase during humanitarian disasters. It details how humanitarian actors can better prevent and respond to such escalation of SGBV, and better meet the needs of affected women, girls, men and boys. This research is based on community views of disaster-affected women, adolescent girls, men and adolescent boys in three South-East Asian countries: Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines.
Unseen, Unheard (IFRC, 2022): The research in this report addresses three questions: What characterizes GBV in disasters? In what ways should legal and policy frameworks, including disaster risk management, be adapted to address GBV in disasters? And how should National Societies and other local actors address GBV in disasters, and what support do they need to fulfil their roles?
- Unseen, Unheard - Asia Pacific case studies
- These three Asia-Pacific case studies make valuable recommendations for multi-sectorial action and follow-up in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Samoa.
"That Never Happens Here" Sexual and gender-based violence against men, boys, LGBTIQ+ people (Norwegian Red Cross/ICRC, 2022): This report, developed by the ICRC and the Norwegian Red Cross, explores the crushing impact and prevalence of SGBV against often overlooked groups. The report calls for The report calls for better understanding within the humanitarian community and improved responses to the needs of men, boys and/including LGBTIQ+ victims/survivors. It also issues a series of recommendations – and a call to action – for states, humanitarian agencies and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Sexual Violence in Detention (ICRC, 2017): This document by the ICRC examines sexual violence in relation to people deprived of their liberty and considers why individuals are at risk of sexual violence in detention and how to prevent and reduce that risk. The document further sets out some potential steps to take when sexual violence occurs.
Promising Pathways for the Prevention of Sexual Violence (ICRC, 2022): The ICRC's Prevention of Sexual Violence Programme (PSVP) is a multi-country, evidence-based initiative that demonstrates how to operationalize prevention through behavioral change in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Launched in 2022, the programme uses two complementary models: Model A engages weapon bearers through specialized frontline training to reduce perpetration by armed forces, while Model B works with communities to address stigma and build resilience through targeted outreach. This resource shares operational findings from the programme's first years of implementation, including measurable behavioral change outcomes and practical insights on effective messengers, training methodologies, and the critical role of commanders and community influencers.
For thematic reports on SGBV against minority groups, including men and boys, please refer to the following resources:
Reports - All Survivors Project
The Thematic Reports section on the All Survivors Project's Reports page contains five publications focusing on cross-cutting issues related to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) against men, boys, and LGBTI+ individuals. Overall, the thematic reports address issues like reintegration of boy soldiers, healthcare for male survivors, detention settings, and practical prevention tools — all with a focus on making responses to CRSV more inclusive of men, boys, and gender minorities.
Sexual Violence against men and boys in war, conflict and migration: A manual for helpers about mental health (Mental Health and Human Rights Info, 2014)
The handbook explains, among other things, how trauma affects mental health. It refers to methods and techniques that can be used to meet the psychological needs of abused boys and men, illustrated through true stories. The handbook can also be useful for people who already have knowledge and experience in the field.
Forced to report: Mandatory reporting of sexual violence in armed conflict (ICRC, 2024): During a half-day hybrid policy-practitioner conference which took place on 19 June 2024, the ICRC and British Red Cross brought together policymakers and practitioners to review the existing evidence base, analyze the different legal and law enforcement approaches, and better understand how mandatory reporting may unintentionally complicate safe access to healthcare for victims and survivors in humanitarian settings. This work built on a joint humanitarian research report, Forced to Report, published in 2020, which explored the humanitarian impacts of mandatory reporting on access to health care for victims/survivors of sexual violence in armed conflict and other emergencies.
Watch this video recording to explore critical questions with experts from across the gender, health, legal, and law enforcement fields, sharing insights that will be invaluable for anyone who is committed to ensuring the safety and dignity of victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
Shifting the Stigma: Prevention and Protection for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Violence (ICRC, 2024): In November 2024 ICRC released its policy brief How does stigma impact victims/survivors of sexual violence during armed conflict?. The document presents ICRC’s Stigma Impact Model, informed by operational expertise, operational evidence, and an extensive consultation of the risks arising from stigma with 948 individuals, of whom 27 per cent were victims and survivors of sexual violence, and 66 organizations, collecting testimonies in 19 countries.
Organized by the ICRC and the Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, this event offered a timely opportunity to highlight the importance of reducing stigma against victims and survivors of sexual violence in conflict settings. Drawing from operational evidence and collaborative research, the event aims to bridge knowledge gaps and inspire evidence-based action, with a particular focus on integrating stigma-sensitive approaches into humanitarian responses and academic inquiry.
The Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (Call to Action) is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in 2013 to fundamentally transform the way gender-based violence is addressed in humanitarian emergencies. The aim is to drive change and foster accountability so that every humanitarian effort, from the earliest stage of a crisis, includes the policies, systems and mechanisms to mitigate gender-based violence risks, especially violence against women and girls, and to provide safe and comprehensive services to those affected by gender-based violence.
Global Protection Cluster and the GBV AoR
The Global Protection Cluster is a network of NGOs, international organizations and UN agencies engaged in protection work in humanitarian crises including armed conflict and disasters. The GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) brings together non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, academics and others under the shared objective of ensuring life-saving, predictable, accountable and effective GBV prevention, risk mitigation and response in emergencies, both natural disaster and conflict-related humanitarian contexts.