Eight reasons why endorsing CAPSEAH should be on your 2025 safeguarding bucket list!

CAPSEAH, the Common Approach to Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment, was launched last year to help standardise the way organisations working in humanitarian, development and peace (HDP) settings prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH). It sets out common principles and minimum actions for private sector, traditional development actors (like the UN, INGOs, civil society organisations), peacekeeping organisations, Governments and others. SDDirect endorsed CAPSEAH last year - here are eight main reasons why we endorsed it, and why we think you should too: 

1. CAPSEAH is a great way for INGOs, Governments, UN agencies, Development Finance Institutions and others to come together with a joint vision for addressing PSEAH. We have been working to inspire and support diverse clients on their safeguarding and PSEAH efforts for over a decade and see CAPSEAH as an opportunity to extend reach and audiences.  

2. It feels good to be listed alongside diverse but likeminded organisations across the globe, all with the same commitment to protecting people from SEAH in HDP settings. 

3. It keeps us growing. At SDDirect we have endorsed CAPSEAH and have embedded it into our policies, procedures, and practice. This includes, but isn’t limited to, our technical work with clients, recruitment, training, due diligence, partnership engagement, communication, and risk management. As our endorsement is public, we are continually reviewing our systems to make sure we are developing as we learn and as contexts change.  

4. Coordination is crucial for PSEAH to advance as funds for work in HDP settings are becoming increasingly scarce. CAPSEAH is the most logical vehicle for more cost-efficient PSEAH initiatives. 

5. Shared definitions contribute to better clarity and a more structured approach to practical prevention, response and learning. We particularly like the CAPSEAH definitions because (a) it acknowledges sexual harassment as a form of harm which can occur both in the workplace and in the delivery of programmes, and (b) it recognises that survivors should not be limited to programme participants only and that survivors may be anyone who comes into contact with the research or programme, including staff members. 

6. CAPSEAH frames itself as a common foundation - it’s *just* a starting point. The framework recognises that adaptation to and alignment with national legislation, community structures and context is fundamental to its successful application. For example, where national laws do not cover the full spectrum of abuse in CAPSEAH or CAPSEAH definitions do not align with national legislation, the focus is instead to use CAPSEAH to “build on and strengthen existing community and national mechanisms". 

7. It can help us all in HDP work better protect victims-survivors. Ultimately, PSEAH is about redistributing the power imbalances within our organisations, programmes and ecosystems. We know that structural and cultural changes can make certain behaviours easier or more difficult. CAPSEAH helps us to work together to ensure that people with less power in an organisation, or project participants, understand their rights, can report and – most importantly – will be believed; and that people with more power are not able to act with impunity, be protected by others or normalise misconduct. 

8. It helps build accountability of actors working in HDP settings. We can use CAPSEAH to remind other endorsed organisations about their PSEAH commitments and to create mutual support to remain accountable to our shared commitments. Also, a community we can also see who is not on the list and can support and encourage them to endorse it.