Reporting Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
UNHCR takes all complaints seriously and follows up on each one individually.
Filing a complaint will not in any way impact UNHCR assisting you.
If you make a complaint, UNHCR will keep it confidential and will follow up safely.
You can make a complaint anonymously; please provide as many details as possible about the incident and the facts.
Sexual exploitation is defined as an actual or attempted abuse of someone’s position of vulnerability, differential power or trust by a humanitarian worker (such as a person depending on a humanitarian worker for survival, food rations, schoolbooks, transport, or other services) to obtain sexual favors. It includes exchanging money, employment, goods or services for sex, for example.
Sexual abuse means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature by a humanitarian worker, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. Any sexual activity by a humanitarian worker with children (persons under the age of 18 years) constitutes sexual abuse.
UNHCR and humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies and NGOs, do not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse. Sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UNHCR, UNHCR partners, volunteers or other humanitarian workers is considered to be serious misconduct and will result in severe consequences for the perpetrator.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual exploitation and abuse by a humanitarian worker (UNHCR staff, UNHCR partner staff, volunteers, for example), please report this misconduct directly to the Inspector General’s Office at UNHCR Headquarters:
- By using the online complaint form
You can also report misconduct through any of the following means:
- Speaking directly with any UNHCR or NGO staff
- Calling one of the UNHCR Helplines (Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00):
- Hotline in Yangon: +95 9 450 065 964
- Hotline in Rakhine (Maungdaw): +95 9 880 876 880
- Hotline in Rakhine (Sittwe): +95 9 880 876 838
- Hotline in South-East (Hpa-An): +95 9 442 638 549
- Hotline in North-West (Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay): +95 9880894701
- Hotline in North-East (Myitkyina): +95 9894973995
- Hotline in North-East (Bhamo): +95 9880876827
- Hotline in Northern Shan (Lashio): +95 9880876814
- Hotline in Southern Shan (Taunggyi): +95 9880876812
- Sending UNHCR a message via the contact form
- Sending UNHCR an email to [email protected]
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