Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Reporting Mechanisms and Contact Persons for Alleged Misconduct, Including Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Committed by UN Personnel in Montenegro

 

What is Sexual Exploitation and Abuse?

Sexual exploitation: is any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power or trust for sexual purposes, including but not limited to profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. 

Sexual abuse: is actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Sexual Harassment versus SEA

SEA occurs against a beneficiary or member of the community. Sexual harassment occurs between personnel/staff, and involves any unwelcome sexual advance or unwanted verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

The distinction between the two is important so that agency policies and staff trainings can include specific instruction on the procedures to report each.

Who does the Zero Tolerance Policy apply to?

UN Personnel and UN Implementing Partners.

  • "UN Personnel” means staff members of the UN Secretariat or any UN System Organization, UN Volunteers working with any such organization, people deployed to a UN System Organization under Stand-by Personnel arrangements or on reimbursable loans, interns, people deployed to a UN System Organization through an employment agency or similar arrangements, gratis personnel, and individuals who have a consultancy contract with a UN System Organization, as well as international or regional military forces operating as part of a UN Peacekeeping Mission or otherwise under or associated with a UN mandate.
  • "UN Implementing partner" is an entity to which a UN office or entity has entrusted the implementation of a programme and/or project specified in a signed document, along with the assumption of responsibility and accountability for the effective use of resources and the delivery of outputs. Implementing partners may include – but are not limited to:
    • Government institutions,
    • Inter-governmental organizations,
    • Civil society organizations, including NGOs.

Implementing partners’ subcontractors are subsumed within this definition.

Click here to submit an allegation

The received information and names will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. Victims’ or complainants’ consent will be secured before confidential information is exchanged, only as necessary  for the purposes of investigation and providing professional support to the victim.

If you have any additional questions or you need any support with submitting the report, please write to psea.montenegro@un.org.

International PSEA hotline:  +1 212 963 1111 (24 hours a day)

Relevant links:

United Nations: Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

How to report?