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NGO Security Management

In the news: Psychological Support and Wellbeing for Aid Workers

It is not breaking news that aid workers are frequently subjected to high levels of stress and pressure. Whether we acknowledge it or not, working in conflict zones, assisting during natural or manmade disasters and in-person or vicarious exposure to the effects of extreme poverty all make their mark. Whilst human resource teams are commonly charged with the management of employee health and wellbeing programmes, discussions during the GISF Forum in Berlin last September emphasised the link between staff wellbeing and good risk management practice. Security managers continuously strive to help staff deliver programmes in physical safety; how can we better mitigate the psychological impact of the work that we do?

28 Jan 2016 Blog

Welcome to Rachel Douglas!

A warm welcome to Rachel Douglas who has commenced her Research and Projects Assistant internship with GISF! Rachel graduated from the University of Leeds in 2015 with a BA (International) Honours in Politics. Due to a passion for travelling and avoiding British winters, she elected to study abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico for a year to learn Spanish and experience total immersion in a foreign culture. Since completing her undergraduate degree, Rachel has interned at the Terrorism and Political Violence Association and is also a Researcher and Project Officer at the think tank Project for Study of the 21st Century (PS21).

15 Jan 2016 News

Risk Management Toolkit in Relation to Counterterrorism Measures

This toolkit (2015) is intended to contribute to an increased understanding of the connection between counterterrorism measures and humanitarian action and highlight steps that humanitarian organisations can take and are taking to address some of the main challenges and risks…

7 Jan 2016 Resource

Aid Worker Security Report 2012

This report provides an overview of aid worker security in 2012, documenting instances of abuse, kidnap, violence and murder. The report finds that, after declining in 2010, total incidents of violence against aid workers are rising again. Most of these…

22 Dec 2015 Resource

The Jihadist Threat to INGO Aid Workers

This brief article examines the current state of the jihadist threat to INGOs, particularly those linked to Britain and France, following November’s Paris attacks as well as the implications of the UK’s subsequent commencement of an overt military campaign in Syria.

22 Dec 2015 Blog

GISF Forum | September 2015 | Key Learning Points

This open-source summary document highlights key information and learning points from the GISF Forum which was held in Berlin in September 2015. The two-day forum of members and expert speakers was kindly co-hosted by Johanniter. Key Learning Points have been extracted…

21 Dec 2015 Resource

Time for a Humanitarian Black Box?

At least sixteen hospitals were bombed in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen over the past few weeks. Powerful nations carried out the aerial bombing campaigns that damaged infrastructure and killed humanitarian staff and civilians. However, the circumstances are usually disputed. Perhaps it is time the humanitarian community installed black boxes to record such events? This article presents a device that records forensic evidence of what happened where, when and who did it. It is a call to the humanitarian community to take part in generating the evidence that will force states to take their responsibilities in protecting humanitarian work seriously.

23 Nov 2015 Blog

Welcome to Shaun Bickley, GISF interim Executive Coordinator

We are delighted to welcome Shaun Bickley to GISF. Shaun is taking over from Lisa Reilly as interim Executive Coordinator from November 2015 until March 2016. Shaun also covered the GISF Executive Coordinator post prior to Lisa taking on the role, so he is very familiar with the running of GISF. Shaun has more than 20 years’ experience in humanitarian access and security, in some of the most challenging conflict and crisis situations. As a leading humanitarian security consultant and facilitator, he has worked with a wide variety of organisations including British Red Cross, Save the Children, Plan International, Oxfam, Merlin, MSF (Holland), Islamic Relief, CARE International, Action Aid, Christian Aid, VSO and RedR.

18 Nov 2015 News

Sexual Violence Conference Report

The CHS Alliance hosted a successful conference on Sexual Violence Management for the Humanitarian sector in early September 2015 that saw over 50 security, health, well-being and HR experts come together to find ways to improve the management of sexual…

12 Nov 2015 Resource