Also available in: Español
Source: corresponsalesclave.org (in Spanish)
By: Lídice López Tocón
In many countries in Latin America and around the world, the safety and security of people working on community advocacy have become a significant element in ensuring the response to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Throughout the region, activists and members of civil society organizations, and particularly members of the communities most affected by HIV, have been subjected to violence. There are even records of assassinations of activists and attacks against the organizations’ facilities.
SAFETY AND SECURITY TOOLBOX
While the conditions of violence and insecurity in some countries are critical and affect society as a whole, the harassment and attacks directed at civil society organizations and activists harm the cycles of disease response programs. The communities most exposed to HIV are particularly affected by such attacks. It is also worth noting that other groups of advocates, such as environmental or indigenous rights activists, also suffer a strong impact from this violence, which in turn hurts the response to malaria, for example.
For this reason, various countries have received resources and technical support from the Global Fund to address this issue, conduct a risk analysis, and define a plan that will enable greater protection for organizations and individuals involved in the response to HIV and tuberculosis.
Toolbox to Address Safety and Security
A few years ago, the Linkages Across the Continuum of HIV Services for Key Populations Affected by HIV (LINKAGES) Project, Frontlines and Family Health International, developed a tool to respond to a challenging security context in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The LAC Platform, an initiative promoted by Via Libre with financial support from the Global Fund, has translated the tool to Spanish and adapted it to the Latin American and Caribbean context. The tool will be used for the first time in Guatemala this year; it is expected to be applied in Belize and the Dominican Republic in the coming months.
Data collection challenges, such as applying behavioral or biomedical surveys, or conducting other health surveillance activities when safety issues in work areas prevent data collectors from moving around freely, are some of the situations that this tool intends to address. As we know, without reliable data, designing disease response strategies becomes more difficult.
Furthermore, insecurity also complicates the recruitment of members of key populations, and widespread hostility towards key populations poses a major barrier to linking them to legal and health services.
On the other hand, worker harassment (e.g., quota collection) during promotion and outreach activities limits the time and places where interventions can be carried out. Condoms and lubricants distribution can be hazardous in some contexts.
Another well-known situation is that doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and other health or correctional workers may receive threats because of their work with key populations, which, in turn, increases their burnout. Confronted with a similar situation, program managers may devote too much energy to responding to security challenges.
It is worth noting that electronic equipment and device theft in unsafe environments is common and put data security at risk.
The Toolbox intends to create a space for discussion on risks in the defense of human rights. It will also guide on how to prevent and diagnose such hazards and formulate a response plan that contributes to reducing the vulnerabilities of the activists, defenders, and communities involved in the response.
The tool orients the safety analysis and diagnostic process by encouraging the identification of internal and environmental factors that affect the safety and security of HIV programs. Examples of decision-making and actions to improve the safety and security of programs, workers, and communities, are also included in the toolkit. You can download the tool by clicking on the following link: Tool Box.