Safety Around Assistance Delivery

This indicator therefore measures the proportion of the target population who report that they felt safe when accessing and receiving the provided assistance. It is a protection mainstreaming indicator that should be used whenever an assistance was provided in a less secure environment.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of the target group members. The sample needs to have a proportional representation of women and men (if relevant, also other groups, such as certain ethnic groups).

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTION (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Introduction: Now I would like to ask you several questions related to your experience of accessing and receiving [specify the assistance] provided by [specify the organization’s name].

Q1: Can you please show me on this paper which picture best represents how safe you felt when coming for [specify the assistance]? [explain the meaning of each picture on the scale – see attached below]

A1: very safe / quite safe / quite unsafe / very unsafe

Q2: Can you please show me on this paper which picture best represents how safe you felt when receiving [specify the assistance]? [explain the meaning of each picture]

A2: very safe / quite safe / quite unsafe / very unsafe

To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of respondents who in both situations felt “very safe” or “quite safe” by the total number of respondents. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to percentages.

Disaggregate the data by gender, age group, location and other relevant criteria.

1) As you can see, instead of asking generally about “provided assistance”, the questions focus on a specific type of assistance the target population received (e.g. it can be non-food items, cash payments, legal counselling, etc.). This is to make sure that the respondent can provide a meaningful response, as people can have very different experience with different types of assistance. If you want to assess several types of assistance within the same indicator, you should:

- decide when it can still be considered that the assistance was delivered in a safe manner (e.g. when the respondent felt safe when accessing and receiving at least 3 out of 4 types of assistance)

- ask Q1 and Q2 for each type of assistance

- count the number of respondents who felt safe when accessing and receiving all of most of the types of assistance (see the first point above)

- divide this number by the total number of respondents

- multiply the result by 100 to convert it to percentages

2) Ensure that all of your data collectors explain the meaning of each face on the picture / scale in the same way, for example: "The happiest face means that you felt very safe. The face with the smaller smile means that you felt quite safe. The next face ... ". Let each data collector practice and ask others to observe whether s/he explains the meaning of the faces correctly. 

3) If you are able to use such data for your current or planned programming, also assess why some people did not feel safe.

4) In some contexts, your enumerators might encounter people who experienced physical or sexual violence related to accessing and receiving assistance. Collecting information about such incidents is sensitive and might pose risks to the respondent as well as to the enumerator. Furthermore, people might find it difficult or not be willing to report on the incidence of violence. As a very minimum, adopt the following measures:

- ensure that the enumerators are familiar with and carry with them Constant Companion listing 1) the main DOs and DON’Ts and 2) contacts for relevant service providers that can provide support to people who experienced violence (see example at the bottom of this  site)

- discuss and agree with your team whether the data collectors should be allowed to ask an affected person whether they can inform relevant service provider about her/his situation so that s/he can be contacted by the service provider (i.e. ensuring a referral)

- ensure that all enumerators were trained in the principles of gender-sensitive interviewing and are not from the same communities as the interviewees

- instruct the enumerators to ensure that the interviews are conducted in a place where no one else can hear or observe the respondent (if the enumerators cannot ensure complete privacy, they should skip this part and move to less sensitive parts of the questionnaire)

- instruct the enumerators to re-assure the respondent about the confidentiality of their answers

- train the enumerators to quickly switch the topic if during the interview someone comes near the respondent

- train the enumerators in how to close the topic and move to the next part of your survey in a sensitive manner

- ensure that there is emotional support available to the enumerators