Today, 31 July, a training session was held for the Lviv Agrarian Chamber team, focusing on the theme of zero tolerance for sexual violence: ‘Procedures for reporting or receiving information regarding cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by organisation staff’.
Seven staff members from the Lviv office took part in the training, and four specialists from the Ternopil office of the Lviv Agrarian Chamber joined online.
The relevance of addressing this topic stems from the Lviv Agrarian Chamber’s active community and charitable work. The Chamber’s specialists are constantly in contact with a large number of people facing difficult life circumstances, and it is therefore vital to adhere to a policy of zero tolerance towards any form of harassment, including sexual harassment. As the Chamber is currently collaborating with the UN World Food Programme under the Institutional Food Programme, which considers the Zero Tolerance Policy towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) as a priority in its work with beneficiaries, knowledge of and compliance with the requirements of this Policy by all partners is of the utmost importance and necessity.
The training was conducted by Monitoring and Protection Officer David Kravchenko, who familiarised participants with the main requirements of the Policy. In particular, the PSEA (Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) System was examined, the principles of which have been incorporated into the LAP policy in accordance with the UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection against PSEA (ST/SGB/2003/13).
They also addressed the issue of staff awareness, discussed reporting mechanisms and feedback channels, established a procedure for staff to follow when receiving complaints or reports regarding relevant SEAB incidents, and defined a victim-centred approach to resolving sensitive issues.
At the end of the training, all participants took an engaging test to assess their understanding of the key objectives of the Zero Tolerance Policy towards SEN.
Source: Lviv Agrarian Chamber