Humanitarian Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention Programming Course

Course Introduction

Gender-Based Violence remains one of the most pervasive protection risks in humanitarian crises, requiring coordinated, survivor-centered, and prevention-focused interventions. This course provides a comprehensive foundation for professionals seeking to strengthen their capacity to design, implement, and evaluate GBV prevention programs aligned with global humanitarian standards. Participants will explore the systemic factors that perpetuate GBV, the complexities of field environments, and the evidence-based methods required to safeguard at-risk populations.

The training delves deeply into the dynamics of power, inequality, and crisis-induced vulnerabilities, helping practitioners understand how humanitarian settings amplify risks for women, girls, and other marginalized groups. Through applied learning methodologies, real-world case studies, and global best practices, attendees gain both theoretical grounding and practical tools to address GBV proactively and sustainably. The course emphasizes an integrated, multi-sectoral approach that strengthens collaboration between protection, health, livelihoods, and coordination clusters.

A core component of this course is the strengthening of participant capacity to conduct effective risk analysis, community engagement, and prevention planning tailored to volatile environments. Learners examine early warning indicators, response systems, and program strategies that are rooted in cultural sensitivity, accountability, and context-specific safety measures. A strong emphasis is placed on safeguarding ethics, do-no-harm principles, and survivor-centered communication.

Participants will also engage with emerging trends such as digital safety risks, online harassment, conflict-related sexual violence, and the gender implications of climate-induced disasters. The course provides insights into how humanitarian actors can adapt program models to new and changing threat landscapes, ensuring that prevention strategies remain relevant, resilient, and future-focused.

Through a combination of expert facilitation, guided peer learning, and scenario-based simulations, the course enables practitioners to build confidence in navigating complex humanitarian protection responsibilities. Learners are supported to develop actionable prevention plans that can be directly applied to current or future programming, regardless of their operational context.

By the end of the course, participants will possess advanced skills in designing ethical, evidence-driven, and community-anchored GBV prevention interventions that improve safety, protection outcomes, and resilience for those most at risk in crisis environments.

Duration

5 days

Who Should Attend

• Humanitarian program managers
• Protection and GBV specialists
• Gender advisors and gender mainstreaming officers
• Social workers and community protection officers
• Human rights and advocacy practitioners
• Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) specialists
• Emergency preparedness and response personnel
• NGO, INGO, and UN agency staff working in protection sectors
• Government officers responsible for gender and humanitarian coordination
• Researchers and development practitioners involved in gender and crisis analysis
• Donor representatives supporting protection and resilience programming

Course Objectives

• Equip participants with advanced knowledge of GBV risk factors in humanitarian settings and the ability to apply prevention frameworks that strengthen community protection and reduce exposure to violence in crisis environments.
• Strengthen participant skills in designing comprehensive GBV prevention programs grounded in global guidelines, local context analysis, and participatory approaches reinforcing accountability and safety.
• Develop the capacity to conduct high-quality gender, power, and risk assessments that capture intersectional vulnerabilities and inform evidence-driven program choices tailored to crisis settings.
• Build competencies for establishing culturally appropriate community engagement strategies that enhance local ownership, support behavior change, and create enabling environments for violence prevention.
• Enhance participant ability to integrate GBV prevention into multi-sectoral humanitarian responses, ensuring cohesive collaboration with protection, health, WASH, shelter, and education clusters.
• Improve understanding of survivor-centered approaches, ethical communication, and safeguarding frameworks that prioritize dignity, confidentiality, and do-no-harm principles.
• Strengthen monitoring, evaluation, and learning capacity for GBV prevention programs using qualitative and quantitative tools that measure behavior change and protection outcomes.
• Expand participant ability to adapt programming to emerging threats such as digital violence, conflict-related sexual violence, climate-related displacement, and harmful social norms.
• Build analytical and strategic decision-making skills required to design prevention pathways, early warning mechanisms, and action plans responsive to evolving humanitarian risks.
• Enable participants to produce comprehensive GBV prevention program frameworks, including stakeholder mapping, resource planning, and sustainability strategies grounded in global best practices.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Humanitarian GBV Prevention

• Understanding forms, drivers, and consequences of GBV in humanitarian contexts and how crises intensify existing social inequalities and risks.
• Global GBV prevention frameworks and mandatory humanitarian standards guiding ethical and safe programming across diverse contexts.
• Intersectionality and vulnerability analysis focusing on marginalized groups disproportionately affected by crisis-related violence.
• Do-no-harm principles and ethical decision-making in GBV prevention programs operating under volatile or resource-limited conditions.

Module 2: Context, Power, and Gender Analysis

• Conducting gender, power, and social norms assessments that uncover underlying drivers of violence and systemic inequalities.
• Tools for mapping GBV risk patterns across different phases of crisis and displacement cycles in humanitarian operations.
• Identifying barriers to safety for women, girls, and marginalized groups using culturally aligned and participatory strategies.
• Techniques for translating assessment data into prevention-oriented program strategies that respond to localized drivers of risk.

Module 3: Community Engagement and Behaviour Change

• Designing inclusive community engagement strategies that empower local actors to lead prevention and norms-shifting initiatives.
• Evidence-based behavior change models for addressing harmful gender norms contributing to violence in humanitarian settings.
• Participatory approaches that involve women, girls, men, and boys in shaping and sustaining violence-prevention efforts.
• Risk-mitigation communication strategies that leverage local narratives, influencers, and community-trusted channels.

Module 4: GBV Risk Mitigation Across Sectors

• Integrating GBV risk-mitigation measures into multi-sectoral humanitarian programs and cluster coordination mechanisms.
• Safety audits and environmental risk assessments supporting safer WASH, shelter, health, and protection programming.
• Improving service-provider collaboration to strengthen protection pathways and reduce survivor exposure to unsafe environments.
• Mainstreaming GBV prevention into operational planning, logistics, and resource allocation for crisis response teams.

Module 5: Designing GBV Prevention Programs

• Steps for designing comprehensive and context-responsive GBV prevention project frameworks within humanitarian operations.
• Developing theories of change that articulate pathways linking activities, expected outcomes, and long-term prevention impact.
• Crafting prevention models using participatory design to ensure cultural relevance and long-term ownership.
• Integrating safeguarding, risk-management, and accountability systems into prevention program architecture.

Module 6: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• MEL frameworks specifically tailored for GBV prevention and social norms-change interventions in crisis environments.
• Qualitative and quantitative tools that capture shifts in attitudes, behaviors, safety perceptions, and community resilience.
• Ethical data collection and safe analysis protocols that avoid retraumatization and uphold confidentiality.
• Using MEL evidence to refine prevention strategies and strengthen adaptive management throughout the program cycle.

Module 7: Protection Systems and Coordination

• Understanding humanitarian coordination structures and GBV sub-cluster functions supporting prevention programming.
• Strengthening referral pathways that ensure safe, survivor-centered access to essential services and protection mechanisms.
• Working with government, civil society, and local leadership to build coordinated prevention systems.
• Cross-sector integration strategies improving alignment with child protection, health, education, and livelihoods initiatives.

Module 8: Responding to Emerging and Evolving GBV Risks

• Addressing digital and online forms of harassment, threats, and exploitation that affect crisis-affected populations.
• Navigating conflict-related sexual violence threats and adapting prevention strategies to high-risk environments.
• Understanding the gender and protection implications of climate-induced displacement and food insecurity.
• Adapting programming in response to new conflict dynamics, political changes, and shifting displacement patterns.

Module 9: Communication, Advocacy, and Norms Transformation

• Strategies for communicating sensitive topics using survivor-centered, culturally grounded, and trauma-informed methods.
• Advocacy approaches that influence policy, mobilize stakeholders, and promote long-term norms transformation.
• Storytelling and risk-sensitive messaging that shift harmful beliefs while ensuring safety of affected populations.
• Leveraging media, digital tools, and community networks for high-impact, ethical public awareness efforts.

Module 10: Sustainability, Localization, and Long-Term Impact

• Strengthening local leadership and capacity-sharing models that enable communities to sustain prevention initiatives.
• Resource planning and partnership models that support long-term, resilient GBV prevention systems.
• Designing exit strategies that safeguard program continuity and community ownership beyond project cycles.
• Integrating innovation, digital tools, and emerging technologies to reinforce prevention and protection outcomes.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.