Addressing sexual violence in conflict and emergency settings (East Africa regional course)
The overall objective of this Executive Short Course (ESC) is to equip mid-level and senior humanitarian managers working in Eastern Africa—or with populations from this region—with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to design and implement survivor-centred interventions for the prevention of and response to sexual violence. These interventions are tailored to conflict and emergency settings and integrated into broader humanitarian operations. The course enhances participants’ understanding of sexual violence in the region—its root causes, contributing factors, and multifaceted impacts on individuals and communities—and builds their capacity to develop comprehensive, multisectoral response models within contextually appropriate, survivor-centred frameworks. Participants will also explore evidence-based approaches and good practices from various contexts in the region.
The course is delivered in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), Refugee Law Project (RLP), Utu Wetu Trust, UNHCR and in collaboration with local and regional expert organisations, survivor-led community organisations, and academic scholars.
- Application Deadline 15 September 2025
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17 – 21 November 2025
- One week
- Nairobi (Kenya)
- English
- 2 ECTS (certification awarded upon successful completion)
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• Full price: CHF 1’700 (fees) + travel cost to be included
• Partner rate (MSF, ICRC): CHF 1’360 (20% discount) + travel cost to be included
• Special Rate for Government and NGO/CBO Staff: CHF 850 + travel cost to be included. Available exclusively to staff from local and national NGOs, CBOs, and government employees in low/middle-income countries. Proof of local employment and salary required.
- Deepen understanding of sexual violence dynamics, its root causes and contributing factors, and its impacts on individuals and communities
- Conceive safe, ethical interventions across multiple sectors that prioritize the rights, needs, and wishes of victims and survivors including specific groups such as male survivors, children born of sexual violence, and other individuals and groups with intersecting identities and characteristics
- Explore effective practices, key organizations, and evidence-based interventions addressing sexual violence in East African contexts
- Expand analytical perspectives of the complex nature of survivor-centred approaches and reflect on strategies through which humanitarian organisations can enhance their survivor-centred practices within specific contexts.
Approximately 50 hours of work during the week, including lectures, case studies, discussions and group work.
The course comprises thematic modules grounded in regional evidence and local expertise, delivered by a diverse team of local, regional, and international specialists in sexual violence prevention and response. The thematic areas include:
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- Mid-level and senior humanitarian managers currently operating in East Africa or serving populations from this region. Participants include those working directly with sexual violence survivors or providing technical guidance and supervision for such programs.
- Other participants with relevant experience and expertise may be accepted if space is available.
Admission requirements:
- Be based in East Africa, or work with people from this region
- Hold a university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent)
- Have at least three years’ relevant professional experience
- Have an excellent command of English
- Demonstrate strong commitment to humanitarian work and ethics
Documents required:
- CV (Résumé)
- Copy of your highest diploma
- Work certificate or official document of your current job position
- Proof of English language competence (TOEIC/TOEFL/IELTS or equivalent); see details here
- Scanned copy of passport
More information about the admission process is available on our application page.
“I was fortunate enough to be part of this course as we are setting up gender and sexual violence response and prevention activities in Borno state, Nigeria. This has meant that I could already feed in some of the learnings into the activity design. As a result of the course, we will, for instance, be implementing more comprehensive support to survivors than previously planned to respond in a more tailor-made way to the needs of each survivor. This course has motivated me to continue seeking ways to improve and extend our programming to support survivors of sexual violence and prevent it from occurring where possible. Within my organisation, sexual violence programming is still marginal compared to other sectors. Still, I intend to advocate internally for increased resource allocation to this often underfunded area and strengthen our organisational capacity.”
Alexander Gnädinger, Programme Manager
The content and the course organisation, as well as the facilitation, were very impressive. Presenters addressed their topics in a pedagogical way tailored to adult training and learning needs. Sexual violence in conflict settings and emergencies and in times of peace should be seriously considered. It has several negative impacts on the lives of individuals, whether males or females and communities. It destroys the social fabric and cohesion of communities. As humanitarian workers, we need to be aware of that and anticipate that sexual violence might happen anywhere and anytime. I was very satisfied with the training. This is a key course that should be offered to all humanitarian actors, not only those working specifically on Sexual violence.
Marietou Dia, Sexual Violence Regional Advisor for Africa, ICRC
“Having facilitators who are experts in the field, not only in knowledge but also in practice, was key to my learning.”
Course participant
“The course was an eye-opener. I interacted with so many practitioners, which was important because we [researchers] make policy recommendations andmust interact meaningfully with those actors who interact routinely with survivors. We often do not have these engagements.
I would definitely recommend this course to researchers on sexual violence in humanitarian settings”.
Course participant
“The course reminded me of the importance of tackling the topic of sexual violence with no preconceptions about its prevalence in a given context, who it affects and what survivors need and want. Preconceived ideas can lead professionals to miss or misunderstand important elements. The course also reminded me of the importance of creating spaces for survivors to speak and of taking the time to listen to them to understand their experience and better address their needs.”
Layla Clément, Human Rights Professional and Investigator
“Looking solely at a (potential) individual victim is fundamentally incomplete. There is a need to adopt a multi-survivor programming and consider the negative implications of those victimised, be they male or female, on their spouses, children and, in fact, communities.“
Anastasiia Doroshenko, Protection Delegate, Danish Red Cross, Sudan
“Listening to the survivor leaders about their needs and wants, about what they think about the humanitarian aid and what we are providing also opened my eyes to several things: some support can only be provided by the community, and we could put more resources to facilitate this. The aid we provide sometimes doesn’t meet the needs and wants of the survivors, because it is based on what we think they need, and we can only understand this by listening to them.”
Course Participant
Designation: Lecturer (ESC Sexual Violence)