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European Commission – Humanitarian & Civil Protection

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/what/humanitarian-aid/gender-sensitive-aid_en

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GENDER – Different Needs, Adapted Assistance FACT SHEET

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/thematic/gender_en.pdf

 

Gender-and Age-Sensitive Aid

 

Why is this important?

Populations affected by humanitarian crises are made up of people of different ages and gender. Women, children and the elderly constitute the majority of those affected by crises. Yet, while assistance often focuses on them, humanitarian aid activities are at times designed without considering their specific needs. For instance, water containers should not be too heavy so that children or elderly women are able to carry them.

Moreover, natural disasters and man-made crises are not gender-neutral – they have a different impact on women, girls, boys, men and elderly persons. Thus, humanitarian assistance must take gender and age into account when responding effectively to the different needs and abilities of different groups.

Aid that is gender- and age-insensitive is less effective. It risks not reaching the most vulnerable people or failing to respond adequately to their specific needs. Furthermore, it could expose vulnerable populations to risks such as sexual and gender-based violence.

How are we helping?

To ensure that the highest quality of humanitarian responses can be provided to those in need, gender and age issues are always considered in humanitarian operations funded by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO). Furthermore, specific actions are targeted at volunerable groups, such as women (e.g., nutritional support to pregnant and breast-feeding women), children (e.g., child protection or education in emergencies) and elderly people (e.g. health assistance to elderly people living in isolated communities).

In addition to specific targeted actions, gender and age considerations need to be mainstreamed in all operations. Regarding gender, in line with the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and following recommendations from the Gender Review http://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png, ECHO has developed a gender approach for humanitarian assistance. Aid projects funded through the EU humanitarian budget are expected to follow the guidance outlined in the Staff Working Document on Gender in Humanitarian Assistance: Different Needs, Adapted Assistance (official versionhttp://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png, brochure version available in English http://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.pngFrench http://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png and Spanishhttp://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png). In 2014, ECHO introduced a Gender-Age Marker (available inEnglish http://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.pngFrench http://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png, and Spanish http://ec.europa.eu/echo/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png) as a quality tool to assess to promote and track gender- and age- sensitive humanitarian interventions. This new instrument builds on lessons learned from existing ones and is applied when evaluating new projects by partners.