Reports and briefing papers

This year’s Aid Worker Security Report discusses the trend of localised security risk reflected in the latest verified data, and examines an area of security risk management that exemplifies the disparities in the sector: security training.

Security Training in the Humanitarian Sector: Issues of equity and effectiveness

This report presents the latest verified statistics on aid worker violence from Humanitarian Outcomes' Aid Worker Security Database. This preview gives updated numbers and trends through 2022.

The most challenging moral dilemmas involve choosing between two objectively negative outcomes. In Afghanistan, the international aid sector faces a wrenching decision: whether to uphold universal human rights values by refusing to comply with the Taliban’s edicts against employing women, or to prioritise the humanitarian imperative to continue providing what aid they can to millions in need. The decision to stay is complicated by the reality that effective in-person aid programming requires female staff to effectively reach women and girls. In this context, aid groups have found partial – albeit suboptimal – solutions through workarounds and low-profile local negotiation strategies, capitalising on the decentralised nature of power structures across the provinces in Afghanistan.

This report presents the latest verified statistics on aid worker violence from Humanitarian Outcomes' Aid Worker Security Database. This preview gives updated numbers and trends through 2022.

Abductions of aid workers in Mali has increased significantly over the last 6 years. Abduction incidents have been reported in 6 out of 10 regions in Mali during the period, with 57% of incidents occurring in the region of Mopti, an epicenter of civil violence.

Managing risks for aid operations in major conflict

Presents the latest verified statistics on aid worker violence through 2021.

This report presents the latest verified statistics on aid worker violence from Humanitarian Outcomes' Aid Worker Security Database.

Contending with threats to humanitarian health workers in the age of epidemics

Crime risks and responses in humanitarian operations

The Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) records major incidents of violence against aid workers globally. The data, collected from public sources, aid organizations, and operational security entities, is broken down by subnational regions as well as type of attack. This report analyses this data from 2000 to 2019.

This report presents the latest verified statistics on aid worker violence from Humanitarian Outcomes' Aid Worker Security Database. This preview gives updated numbers and trends through 2019.

Addressing sexual violence and gender-based risk in humanitarian aid

Humanitarian Outcomes initiated the AWSD in 2005 as a continuously updated database with security incident reports going back to 1997

In 2017, 158 major incidents of violence against humanitarian operations occurred in 22 countries, affecting 313 aid workers.

In 2016, 158 major attacks against aid operations occurred, in which 101 aid workers were killed, 98 wounded and 89 kidnapped.