1. Security in Humanitarian Operations
Daniel Paul – Humanitarian Engineering/Engineering and Computing
Introduction
The delivery of aid and response to humanitarian crises is becoming more dangerous,
In 2014, 270 aid workers were attacked; 115 of whom died,
Attacks and deaths of humanitarians are still rising,
Methods of attacks are becoming more dangerous.
Methods
Comparison of Organisational Case Studies:
Unstructured interviews,
Scenario Based Focus Groups,
Observations,
Delphi Study.
Challenges
Finding organisations willing to take part in the research,
Identifying overseas organisations able to take part in the research,
Funding for overseas research.
Next Steps
Identify organisations willing to participate in the research,
Collect data with a range of organisations.
Identify the differences between perceived and actual threats and whether security training is effective.
Benefits/Impacts of Research
Help direct training courses to target real life threats,
Allow organisations to see how workers perceptions compares to reality,
Urge the humanitarian community to continue looking at security issues.
Aims
To research the difference in field staff perception of danger, the training provided and how these compare with the actual threats in organisations involved in humanitarian operations, and to map this over the disaster cycle.
Results (from Literature Review)
-Humanitarians are at risk now more than ever, and this is only rising,
Not all organisations provide security training for staff, especially nationals,
National staff are some of the most at risk field workers, in all contexts,
Security in the humanitarian sector is a relatively young field (starting in 1991),
No tools exist to test security awareness in the humanitarian sector.
Objectives
Comparison of Organisational Case Studies:
Unstructured interviews,
Scenario Based Focus Groups,
Observations,
Delphi Study.
Using Scenario Testing
Used mainly in Software Engineering,
Will be adapted to study field workers understanding of security issues,
Scenarios based on real life events,
Will provide new thinking on how to test security awareness for field teams.
Key Resources/Sites
- Humanitarian Policy Group
- Aid Worker Security Database
-SPHERE Handbook
- Good Practice Review 8 (2000/2010)
DoS: Dr Elizabeth Miles
Timescale: Sept Sept. 2016