It’s time to address sexual violence in academic global health

“Having more women humanitarian leaders will help transform the humanitarian system”: Challenges and Opportunities for Women Leaders in Conflict and Humanitarian Health

“…[45] Incorporate a commitment to gender equality within programme policies, visions, mission statements and core strategies. [1,44,45] exual arassment and ender-based iolence [62,73,4] Improving reporting mechanisms. [62] Adopting zero tolerance policies on sexual harassment and gender-based violence.…”

“…[39] Many of these barriers are echoed in humanitarian, fragile and post-con ict contexts including, but not limited to, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Gaza, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, northern Uganda, Cambodia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. [2,62,63] The barriers reported in these settings include socio-cultural and economic obstacles for women exercising agency and leadership in humanitarian crises; patriarchal attitudes and norms that restrict women's participation in public space and undermine their contribution as leaders; women's burden of unpaid work; a lack of experience and opportunities to participate in leadership, exclusion from emergency response decision-making structures; low self-con dence; poverty and access to resources; and low levels of education and literacy. [2,64] b-Organisational level In 2018, Oxfam and Save the Children were rocked by a cascade of sexual misconduct accusations.…”

“…Evidence also shows that sexism, sexual harassment, gender pay inequity, and fewer chances for promotion are key barriers that women in the scienti c, medical and academic sector face. [49,62,73,74] Laurie Garrett's article in the BMJ provides recent analysis of the barriers experienced by women leaders in the scienti c and medical sector. Female advancement in this sector faces signi cant barriers in access to advanced education, career progression and promotions, extreme bias in research funding, access to journal publication, and invitations to present at high-level meetings.…”

“Having More Women Humanitarian Leaders Will Help Transform The Humanitarian System”: Challenges and Opportunities for Women Leaders in Conflict and Humanitarian Health

“…37Many of these barriers are echoed in humanitarian, fragile and post-conflict contexts including, but not limited to, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Gaza, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, northern Uganda, Cambodia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. (56,59,60) The barriers reported in these settings include socio-cultural and economic obstacles for women exercising agency and leadership in humanitarian crises; patriarchal attitudes and norms that restrict women's participation in public space and undermine their contribution as leaders; women's burden of unpaid work; a lack of experience and opportunities to participate in leadership, exclusion from emergency response decision-making structures; low self-confidence; poverty and access to resources; and low levels of education and literacy. (56,61) Organisational level…”

“…Organisational culture across the conflict and humanitarian health domain is a replication of societal level challenges as it is discriminatory, deeply misogynistic and generally hinders women pursuing leadership roles (60) Interviewees from a study on diversity in humanitarian settings feel that high security risk contexts often lead to the exclusion of women. (29) Researchers from the Feinstein International Centre interviewed individuals from humanitarian and development organisations and found key operational factors conducive to sexual misconduct across the organisations: the majority of aid operations are led and dominated by men, especially in situations where active armed conflict is occurring; male domination of power and decision-making in aid agencies contributes to a macho environment, where males with power foster an atmosphere where sexual discrimination and harassment flourishes.…”