USAID Action Alliance for Preventing Sexual Misconduct (AAPSM)
Measuring Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian and Development Settings

Understanding and Measuring Variation in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Challenges of Existing Data

Presenters

• Dr. Dara Kay Cohen, Harvard University
• Dr. Ragnhild Nordås, University of Michigan
• Dr. Anjali Dayal, Fordham University

Summary

In this session, Drs. Cohen, Nordås, and Dayal presented their research on sexual violence, exploitation and abuse conducted in wartime contexts and in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions. The presentation focused on variation in the prevalence, and key characteristics, of sexual violence (perpetrator, victim, location, etc.) as well as the challenge of collecting accurate and ethical data on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA). Participants called for better data collection and recommended triangulating data to document variation in SEA prevalence in order to help identify patterns and risk factors.

Presentation: “Toward documenting variation in rape, sexual violence and SEA: Challenges, opportunities, and why we should care”