Geneva – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) – in partnership with Translators without Borders (TWB) – today launched PSEA at the Frontline, a global campaign to further empower frontline humanitarian workers and partners in the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). Through a comprehensive package of communication and outreach materials in 22 languages, the campaign is designed to equip those who work closely with communities around the world with knowledge and awareness to recognize, report and ultimately help prevent SEA from occurring against people receiving assistance or seeking protection.   

“Sexual exploitation and abuse harms the most vulnerable and is an extreme form of abuse that WFP, IOM and the entire humanitarian community have no tolerance for,” says WFP Deputy Executive Director Valerie Guarnieri. “Our agencies joined forces to create PSEA at the Frontline in a decisive effort to step up the prevention of, and response to, SEA.” 

Using the tagline “Together We Say No”, the easy-to-use campaign materials include illustrated print materials, audio messages and multimedia resources. PSEA at the Frontline was designed using feedback from over 3,000 humanitarian workers in over 80 countries to maximize the applicability and effectiveness of the communication and outreach products and messages. 

“IOM and WFP have joined together to break down the language barrier of protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA),” says IOM Deputy Director General Amy Pope. “Every day, in every place across the world, we must all ‘Say No’ to sexual exploitation and abuse.” 

PSEA at the Frontline will also be launched through a series of in-country events.  The first of these will be in Colombia (31 Oct-4 Nov 2022), a mission that will be joined by Mr. Christian Saunders, the Special Coordinator on improving the United Nations response to sexual exploitation and abuse. Subsequent events have been planned for Senegal (regional West Africa launch) and South Sudan.

Key Resources  

• Link to PSEA at the Frontline resources: PSEA at the Frontline – Together We Say No | IASC / PSEA (interagencystandingcommittee.org) 
• Link to the video presentation of PSEA at the Frontline

IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. With 174 member states and a presence in over 100 countries, IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. The Organization works with its partners in the international community to assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration, advance understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through migration and to uphold the well-being and human rights of all migrants. 

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. 

Translators without Borders (TWB) is a global community bringing together over 100,000 language volunteers who offer their time and skills to support the organization's mission — helping people get vital information and be heard, whatever language they speak. Originally founded in 2011, TWB is today part of CLEAR Global, a US-based nonprofit that also comprises CLEAR Tech and CLEAR Insights. 

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Media contacts 

IOM : Safa Msehli – smsehli@iom.int  
WFP: Azfar DEEN - azfar.deen@wfp.org 
Translators without Borders: Susan Mbalu - susan.mbalu@clearglobal.org