Digna, the Canadian Centre of Expertise on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), supports organizations to fulfill their duty of care towards their program participants, as it is each organization’s obligation to support survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in their own operations and contexts. Digna’s mandate is to support organizations to implement gender-responsive, survivor-centered, and trauma-informed policies, procedures, and resources in the case that someone comes to an organization for support following an incident of SEA. Digna encourages organizations to think through all policies, procedures, and resources
with an intersectional and intercultural lens, and consider the different needs and realities of survivors.
The goal of this guide is to support organizations in preparing to support survivors of SEA, before an incident occurs. Pre-positioning the proper protocols, standard operating procedures, resources, and staff/volunteers with the skills to support survivors in each country or context of operation is key to ensuring the protection of the survivor.
Digna urges organizations to consider prioritizing the up-front costs of proper survivor support, to avoid potentially creating more emotional work and triggering situations for survivors who do choose to come forward.
The risk of SEA to program participants is never zero. Digna aims to help organizations reduce that risk, but also address the risk of doing more harm to survivors.
This guide aims to close the gap on implementing actual survivor-centered and trauma-informed policies and procedures. By using this guide, your organization will have a solid foundation for in-country support for survivors.