Establishing a code of conduct for staff and volunteers
Usage of a pledge form
In order to ensure that disaster response is
sensitive to gender and diversity, it is
important to inform and implement it at, (1)
the project level, such as content of
assistance; (2), the organizational level, such
as forming teams of staff and volunteers who
engage in assistance; and (3), the individual
level, such as attitude and behaviour of those
who engage in assistance. There are
organizations, which asked staff members
and volunteers to sign a pledge form for the
protection of the person concerned,
o b s e r v a n c e o f c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y , a n d
preservation of neutrality.
In the case of protection of children
One organization has “a code of conduct for
the protection of children” and prepares a
written pledge which stipulates important
points when having contact with children and
appropriate behaviours. The behaviours that
are not allowed are: “To commit obscene
acts, or to make children do obscene acts,”
and “to have physical contacts that are
uncomfortable or unnatural for child(ren).”
Standards for common understanding
A relationship of trust is easily broken in a
power imbalance between affected people
and those who provide assistance. It is
important to be careful about relationships
with affected people. It is better that each
organization develop a code of conduct in
order to avoid denying the diversity of
affected people, to treat them discriminatively,
and to avoid overlooking sexual violence and
infringement of human rights. It makes it
possible to call for observance of the code;
not to rely on individual judgment about their
actions and behaviour. With the code, it is
possible to warn those who deviate and to be
accountable to victims.