Helping Hand for Relief and Development and InterAction NGO Community Announce CEO Pledge on Preventing Sexual Abuse, Exploitation and Harassment

Senior Leaders Endorse Steps to Protect Staff and Local Communities

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Helping Hand for Relief and Development

Mar 28, 2018, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) joined InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in every developing country in the world, in announcing a pledge signed by 115 organizations to improve our efforts to prevent sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment by and of NGO staff.

The pledge stems from the work of leaders within InterAction's member organizations since December 2017, to address sexual abuse and exploitation within the international NGO community. While many international nonprofits began work on the prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation nearly a decade ago, changing cultural conversations sparked the need for more robust action. The pledge represents a public commitment to practices and policies that will not only protect the staff of the participating organizations, but also the communities they serve.

"At HHRD we ensure our representatives and staff adhere to strict policies to prevent sexual abuse, exploitation or harassment in our regional offices, the field as well as, in the interaction with beneficiaries," said HHRD CEO Mr. Farrukh Raza.

"We commit to strengthening the implementation of the policies we have already, and to work together to find common solutions to the challenges that remain," said InterAction President Lindsay Coates, who also serves as a co-champion on Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Aid Workers for the UN's Inter-Agency Standing Committee.

HHRD is a global humanitarian organization responding to human sufferings in emergency situations around the world regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class and religion. To donate please visit www.hhrd.org or call 1-888-808-4357(HELP).

HHRD is a 4-star Charity Navigator and a member of Inter-Action. Tax ID # 31-1628040 – www.hhrd.org

InterAction is the largest U.S. alliance of international nongovernmental organizations. Our members work with local communities to overcome poverty and suffering by helping to improve their quality of life. Visit www.interaction.org.

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SOURCE Helping Hand for Relief and Development