I did what is needed because for me it's important : How humanitarian managers perceive and experience their responsibilities with regards to managing risks of sexual violence

Abstract: Since 2018 and what is referred to as the “Oxfam scandal” it seems that the practices around the prevention of sexual violence in the aid sector have evolved but it is difficult to estimate how much has changed. This research focuses on the specific point of view of managers in aid organizations. They have a specific role with regards to safeguarding because they manage a team and are involved in project design.  This study’s aim is to understand how humanitarian managers perceive and experience their responsibilities towards safeguarding. Based on the analysis of interviews with 6 managers, it examines how they perceive their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding and the risks of sexual violence. It also questions how equipped they feel to mitigate these risks and whether they have observed a change in the past few years, with regards to sexual violence in the aid sector.  This qualitative research relies on the framework of gender-based violence, the concept of intersectionality, the concept of situated knowledge of Donna Haraway and the theory of competencies, one of the theories of adult learning.  It demonstrates that the perceptions of sexual violence by managers of the aid sector are linked to their personal ethics and experiences and that although they consider themselves responsible to prevent sexual violence, their perceptions of the risks are not homogenous. This study lays the ground for further research on safeguarding from the perspectives of managers, with a stronger emphasis on intersectional and decolonial approaches.