#NoExcuse Webinar Series

WHO has a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of Sexual Misconduct (SM) and is committed to capacitating our workforce, partners and collaborators to prevent, protect from and respond effectively and quickly to any allegation of SM. Joining forces across agencies to fight SM can power our efforts and positively impact communities, victims and survivors directly.

Keep an eye out for announcements via email and Workplace, as in 2023, WHO, together with partners and experts worldwide, will run six webinars. The webinars information will be advertised through internal and external WHO's channels.

Self-paced
Language: English

Course information

------------------------------------------------------- 2024 webinars -------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, 12 March 2024 - 07:00 and 15:00 CET
Looking beyond sexual misconduct to address all forms of abusive conduct

Jennifer Marie Linkins, Aba Tweba Ankrah-Ntamwe, Fardin Shabab, Eva Bolkart, Coralie Colson-Schack and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.

Watch the first #NoExcuse webinar of 2024, where WHO's commitment to addressing abusive conduct takes center stage. Key speakers, including the Director of HRT, Ombudsperson HQ, and Head of WHO Country Offices, will guide us through the WHO policy on Preventing and Addressing Abusive Conduct, showcasing the organization's proactive approach in tackling abusive behavior beyond just focusing on sexual misconduct. This webinar provides a valuable opportunity to refresh your knowledge on identifying and addressing incidents of abusive behavior. Don't miss this chance to be informed and empowered.

--------------------------------------------------------- 2023 webinars -------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, 20 June 2023 - 07:00 and 15:00 CET
Working with our implementing partners to prevent and address sexual misconduct Dr Iman Shankiti, Dr Francis Chisaka Kasolo, Ms Ellen Wielezynski, Ms Omaima Mounir, Ms Veenu Kakkar, Ms Sapna Dubey, Dr Priya Karna, Ms Sowei Smith and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage and Christos Mylonas.

Many of us work with implementing partners, such as community-based organizations, NGOs, and others, to deliver public health interventions on behalf of the WHO. Our efforts to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct must include the risks posed by these implementing partners. This year, WHO will use the UN PSEA Capacity Assessment Tool to determine the risks of sexual exploitation and abuse posed by our implementing partners and initiate efforts to strengthen their ability to prevent and respond to such risks. If you or your team, work through implementing partners, we invite you to watch this webinar to learn how to manage the risks of sexual misconduct associated with them.

Tuesday, 02 May 2023 - 07:00 and 15:00 CET
Webinar 2: Managing sexual misconduct risks in WHO technical and operational programs Dr Arvind Mathur, Dr Jamela Al-Raiby, Ms Meriana Zaki, Ms Anne Njoroge and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.

As WHO staff or collaborators, we all have a role in preventing and responding to sexual misconduct. In our different capacities, in normative, technical programmes or emergency operations, at country-, regional-, or HQ-level, we need to apply a risk-based approach to address sexual misconduct and ensure regular, and ad hoc risk assessments are conducted and acted upon. In the second #NoExcuse webinar of 2023, we will outline the risk management approach related to the sexual misconduct prevention and response WHO is taking.

Tuesday, 28 February 2023 - 07:00 and 15:00 CET
Webinar 1: WHO’s New Policy and Strategy on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct
Dr Sigrid Kranawetter - Dr Catharina Boehme and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.
This #NoExcuse webinar will walk you through the new WHO policy and introduce the WHO strategy that defines our vision, approaches and expected results over the next three years.

------------------------------------------------------- 2021& 2022 webinars -------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, 15 September 2021- 13.00-14.30 CET
Protecting communities from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA): are we doing enough?
Ms. Domenica Costantini - Mr. Clifford Isabelle - Ms. Mariska De Keersmaecker - Dr. Ibrahima Socé - Ms. Wendy Cue.
Moderated by Dr. Gaya Gamhewage.
This first webinar in the series focused on the progress and challenges that humanitarian and emergency response agencies face in combatting SEAH. It looked at what exists, the achievements to date and the barriers that still persist.

Wednesday, 13 April 2022 - 13.00-14.30 CET
Putting survivors and victims at the heart of our work on addressing SEAH
Ms Asmaa Aljuned - Ms Alyssa Boularès - Ms Ingrid Gercama - Ms Ellie Kemp - Ms Mendy Marsh.
Moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.
In this webinar, you will hear from experts who have completed WHO-commissioned research into how the Organization can shift to this new approach, which will form the evidence base for the shift we are making to our policy and practice. And we will also hear from staff representatives on applying this approach in our workplaces.
This is the first of six webinars in 2022 on PRSEAH and a component of WHO's #NoExcuse campaign.

Thursday, 12 May 2022 - 13.00-14.30 CET
Positive masculinity to ignite cultural change for the prevention and response to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment
Dr Niru Kumar - Mr Oswaldo Montoya - Mr Raul Thomas and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.
*To address culture change to effectively address SEAH, we have to look not just at compliance to rules, but at the silent forces that drive SEAH. Primary amongst these drivers is the difference in the power relationship between men and women (and minority genders). This is as true in remote communities where we work as in our own workplaces. In this webinar, we will look at the issue of “toxic masculinity” – the negative aspects of exaggerated traits considered (stereotypically) masculine. In its place, we are promoting the concept of “positive masculinity” as part of the culture change that we seek across WHO’s workforce and in all our workplaces. Join us to start this important conversation!*

Wednesday, 22 June 2022: - 13.00-14.30 CET
Ensuring our implementing partners prevent and respond to SEAH
Ms Ghida Anani - Ms Clare Creo - Mr Ghulam Ghous - Mr Bujar Hoxha - Ms Nicole Kim and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.

As WHO sets new standards to safeguard our programmes from sexual exploitation, abuseand harassment, we must ensure that all our implementing partners do the same. If youwork with implementing partners, experts, collaborating centres, volunteers, or networks todeliver your programmes and initiatives, this webinar is a must for you to attend. In our#NoExcuse webinar this June, we will introduce the United Nations protocol on Allegationsof sexual exploitation and abuse involving Implementing Partners. In addition, experts fromUN agencies and humanitarian agencies will share how they are assessing andcapacitating implementing partners to meet safeguarding standards to prevent and respondto sexual misconduct.

Thursday, 22 September - 13.00-14.30 CET
Implementing services for victims and survivors of SEA
Dr Eugene Kongnyuy - Ms Helen Versland - Ms Saba Zariv and moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.

WHO is taking a victim and survivor-centred approach to our work on preventing and responding to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. This webinar focuses on the common UN principles to support victims and survivors, the services available in countries, and the services available for WHO personnel who have experienced any form of sexual misconduct.

Thursday, 20 October - 13.00-14.30 CET
Assessing SEA Risk on our programmes and operations
Dr Raul Thomas - Ms Fatou Fall - Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, moderated by Dr Gaya Gamh ewage.

Assessing the risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) is central to achieving zero tolerance for any form of sexual misconduct by our personnel and implementing partners. Identifying the concrete risks that could lead to SEAH and taking action to mitigate them will enable us to be effective in safeguarding all our programmes and operations.

Tuesday, 22 November - 13.00-14.30 CET
Safeguarding our programmes and operations
Mr Aidan O'Leary - Dr Margaret Lamunu - Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, moderated by Dr Gaya Gamhewage.

WHO has committed to safeguard our community-facing programmes from sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH). In our last webinar of the year, we will discuss how this ambition is transformed in our country operations. We will explore actions we can take across the SEAH “safeguarding cycle”, how to prevent and respond in high-risk situations such as health emergency response operations and the polio programme. We will also hear how WHO Country Teams address this issue and explore how to reduce the risk of sexual misconduct by our implementing partners.

Course contents

  • Protecting communities from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA): are we doing enough? - 15 September 2021

  • Putting survivors and victims at the heart of our work on addressing SEAH - 13 April 2022

  • Positive masculinity to ignite cultural change for the prevention and response to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment - 12 May 2022

  • Ensuring our implementing partners prevent and respond to SEAH - 22 June

  • Implementing services for victims and survivors of SEA - 22 September

  • Assessing SEA Risk on our programmes and operations - 20 October

  • Safeguarding our programmes and operations - 22 Nov.

  • WHO’s New Policy and Strategy on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct - 28 Februray 2023

  • Managing sexual misconduct risks in WHO technical and operational programmes - 02 May 2023

  • Working with our implementing partners to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct  - 20 June 2023 :

    Many of us work with implementing partners, such as community-based organizations, NGOs, and others, to deliver public health interventions on behalf of the WHO. Our efforts to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct must include the risks posed by these implementing partners.  This year, WHO will use the UN PSEA Capacity Assessment Tool to determine the risks of sexual exploitation and abuse posed by our implementing partners and initiate efforts to strengthen their ability to prevent and respond to such risks. If you or your team, work through implementing partners, we invite you to watch this webinar to learn how to manage the risks of sexual misconduct associated with them and to discover how other UN agencies are already addressing this issue and learn about the actions we, as WHO personnel, must take as our organization implements the assessment tool and related activities. 
  • Looking beyond sexual misconduct to address all forms of abusive conduct:

    Watch the first #NoExcuse webinar of 2024, where WHO's commitment to addressing abusive conduct takes center stage. Key speakers, including the Director of HRT, Ombudsperson HQ, and Head of WHO Country Offices, will guide us through the WHO policy on Preventing and Addressing Abusive Conduct, showcasing the organization's proactive approach in tackling abusive behavior beyond just focusing on sexual misconduct. This webinar provides a valuable opportunity to refresh your knowledge on identifying and addressing incidents of abusive behavior. Don't miss this chance to be informed and empowered.

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