Protection Mainstreaming

Protection Mainstreaming

It is the responsibility of a CCCM Cluster Coordinator to ensure the mainstreaming of protection throughout the core functions of the Cluster, and to implement specific activities supporting protection mainstreaming. 

CCCM Cluster coordination teams should at a minimum: 

1. Provide protection mainstreaming guidance/tip sheets for partners  
2. Carry out a protection risk assessment & produce a protection risk analysis matrix for partners 
3. Monitor implementation 
4. Conduct training for partners  

In addition, protection mainstreaming should be ensured throughout the delivery of the cluster core functions.  

Specific attention should be paid to mainstreaming protection into the CCCM Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) chapters and CCCM Response Strategies (see below and Toolkit Section 5. HPC guidance).  

The Issue

Mainstreaming protection ensures that the protective impact of CCCM programming is maximized. Through the incorporation of protection principles into response delivery, CCCM actors can ensure that their activities target the most vulnerable, enhance safety, dignity, and promote and protect the human rights of the beneficiaries without contributing to or perpetuating discrimination, abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation. 

The Approach

Protection mainstreaming is the process of incorporating protection principles and promoting meaningful access, safety and dignity in humanitarian response. The following elements must be taken into account in all CCCM activities: 

• Prioritize Safety & Dignity, & Avoid Causing Harm: Prevent and minimize as much as possible any unintended negative effects of intervention which can increase people’s vulnerability to both physical and psychosocial risks. 
• Meaningful Access: Arrange for people’s access to assistance and services – in proportion to need and without any barriers. Pay special attention to individuals and groups who may be particularly vulnerable or have difficulty accessing assistance and services. 
• Accountability: Set-up appropriate mechanisms through which affected populations can measure the adequacy of interventions, and address concerns and complaints. 
• Participation & Empowerment: Support the development of self-protection capacities and assist people to claim their rights, including – not exclusively – the rights to shelter, food, water and sanitation, health, and education.

In Practice 

Tips for Protection Mainstreaming into CCCM Programs 

The CCCM coordination team should produce guidance/tips for partners on mainstreaming protection into CCCM programs, and reflect the same in HRP chapters and CCCM strategies. The Tipsheet on Protection Mainstreaming gives practical, operational tips, to achieve the four protection mainstreaming elements above. 

At country level, the CCCM Cluster coordination team must: 

• Be familiar with the contents of the global Tipsheet for CCCM, and apply it to the Cluster’s work 
• Adapt the Tipsheet to the context as necessary 
• Disseminate it to all Cluster members. Don’t forget to translate into local languages. 

The national Protection Cluster should be able to support you to adapt the Tipsheet, if needed. 

See Related Resources for the global Tipsheet on Protection Mainstreaming for CCCM Programs from the Global Protection Cluster, and an example Tipsheet contextualized for a country response. 

Protection Risk Assessment (PRA) & Matrix

that supports a do-no-harm approach 

Complementing a contextualized Protection Mainstreaming Tipsheet, a CCCM Cluster should also have in place a Protection Risk Assessment (PRA) for the CCCM response, shared with Cluster members and used by the Cluster to inform strategic planning processes. 

What is a Protection Risk Assessment? A PRA is an operational tool that helps to identify protection risks relevant to CCCM responses, including risk of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse and strategies to mitigate these risks.  

When should it be done? A PRA should be done as part of strategic planning processes (HRP and CCCM Response Strategy development), for use by the CCCM Cluster and Cluster members. In addition, a PRA can be done by either the CCCM Cluster, or CCCM actors, for a specific activity that has protection concerns. 

A PRA done as part of strategic planning processes aims to identify protection risks relevant to the CCCM response that is planned, and to put into place approaches to mitigate these risks.  

It should be shared with Cluster partners to support analysis for their activities planning, and also reflected in the CCCM HRP chapter and CCCM Response Strategy. 

Who should it be done by? For a PRA that is done for the whole CCCM response as part of strategic planning processes, the Cluster coordination team should prepare a CCCM PRA matrix, in consultation and with inputs from Cluster members. You can reach out to the Protection Cluster for support, as needed. Where required, sub-national or area PRA matrixes may need to be prepared.  

For a PRA done to inform planning for a specific activity, this should be done by either the CCCM actor planning the activity, or by the Cluster coordination team with the group of CCCM actors involved.  

What should it contain? A PRA matrix is straightforward and should be operational. List each CCCM activity – either the CCCM activities in the HRP, or activities that will be undertaken for a specific response. For each activity, include: 

• Protection Risk/Threat: What are the key protection risks beneficiaries or humanitarians may be exposed to through this activity's implementation? 
• Likelihood: What is the likelihood of this risk actually occurring? 
• Impact: What would be the level of impact on beneficiaries and/or humanitarian workers? 
• Mitigating Measure: What are ways we could reduce the risk or weaken its impact? 
• Monitoring: How can we monitor for this risk? 
• Resources Required: What resources, if any, would be required to mitigate and/or monitor the risk? 
• Acceptable Level of Risk: Is this an acceptable level of risk? Do we go forward with the activity? 

See Related Resources, below, for a Template for a Protection Risk Assessment that you can adapt and use. 

Use of the PRA by Cluster Members 

At the project / implementation level, all organizations submitting CCCM HRP projects and/or implementing CCCM activities should be required to demonstrate evidence of how they reflected upon and ensure efforts to Do No Harm and mainstream protection concepts, inclusive of GBV and PSEA, on which the PRA is centred. 

For example, partners can be required to list the key protection risks that beneficiaries or humanitarian workers may be exposed to through the implementation of their project’s activities (including risks of GBV or SEA), and the related mitigating measures that will be adopted (using the cluster PRA Matrix as a guide). This can be made a required for project proposals etc.  

While completing their own PRA, in highlighting any key protection risks and mitigating measures needed/planned in implementing the project, partners should specifically ask themselves:  

• Were women and girls an integral part of the design, implementation and evaluation of activities? How were the vulnerabilities/risks particular to women and girls taken into account? 
• Were older persons and persons with a disability (PWD) part of the design, implementation and evaluation of activities? How were the vulnerabilities/risks particular to older persons and PWDs taken into account? 
• Was the situation of communities and their relation with IDPs, returnees taken into consideration?  
• Describe how the activity/project addressed GBV risk mitigation activities/interventions (referral to GBV service and/or GBV survivors part of a selection criteria);  
• What activities addressed PSEA? (e.g. PSEA complaint form developed for staff and beneficiaries) 

Monitoring  

It is a system wide requirement to mainstream protection into humanitarian response. Ultimately each organisation / CCCM partner is responsible and accountable to mainstream protection in their activities and carry out their own monitoring and evaluation, and to report on any related indicators in the HRP.  

The CCCM Cluster coordination team should also monitor protection mainstreaming at the Cluster level through periodic reviews (aligned with HRP or equivalent mid-year / end of year response reviews) requiring partners to indicate measures they have taken. 

This can be a simple survey requesting partners to list the mitigating measures that they have implemented from the PRA matrix for each of their activities and measures they have implemented addressing the protection mainstreaming tips. 

Importantly, the affected population should be consulted through focus group discussions and surveys.  

Training & Guidance  

You may wish to support partners to be able to better mainstream protection in their programming through accessing trainings.  

If needed, you can reach out to the Protection Cluster for support on partner trainings and to utilise any other existing in-country capacity, trainings and initiatives on protection mainstreaming.  

Further, given that CCCM is very cross cutting across sectors, Cluster Coordinators should discuss protection mainstreaming trainings in the inter-cluster coordination groups (or equivalent) to organise joint trainings and utilise expertise (e.g. from the Protection Cluster). 

Related Resources