The primary purpose of these guidelines is to enable humanitarian actors and communities to plan, establish, and coordinate a set of minimum multisectoral interventions to prevent and respond to sexual violence during the early phase of an emergency. While these guidelines focus on the early phase of an emergency, they also aim to inform and sensitise the humanitarian community to the existence of GBV during emergencies, that it is a serious and life threatening protection issue, and offer concrete strategies for including GBV interventions and considerations in emergency preparedness planning and during more stabilised phases of emergencies.

Inter-Agency Standing Committee (2005)