GBV Case Management

Because GBV results in harmful physical, emotional and social consequences that often require information and care from multiple service providers, case management has become an integral part of the response to GBV in humanitarian settings. GBV case management is a structured method for providing help to a survivor whereby the survivor is informed of all the options available to them and the issues and problems facing a survivor are identified and followed up in a coordinated way, and emotional support is provided to the survivor throughout the process. Case management has also become the primary entry point for survivors to receive crisis and longer-term psychosocial support, given the lack of more established health and social support service providers in humanitarian settings.

GBV Case Management Capacity Building Initiative

The GBVIMS Global Team spearheaded a project from 2014 to 2016 in six countries thanks to funding from the Government of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. This project aimed to better understand the needs that came out of the evaluation. Funding from the Government of Canada was used to conduct more thorough assessments of specific gaps in service deliveryand data collection and develop country-specific strategies to address those needs in each of the six countries of implementation. The assessments highlighted a major gap: the need for global guidance on how to deliver GBV CM in humanitarian settings.

This two-year project laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the GBV Case Management Capacity Building Initiative and culminated in June 2017 – thanks to funding from the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) – with the publication of the Interagency Gender-Based Violence Case Management Guidelines: Providing care and case management services to survivors of gender-based violence in humanitarian settings. The new Interagency GBV CM Guidelines set interagency standards for providing care, support and protection to GBV survivors, with a focus on GBV case management, and are accompanied by practical tools and training materials. The guidelines outline a framework for GBV CM programs to incorporate a survivor-centered approach, adhere to guiding principles, guide consent and referral processes; and provide technical guidance,for example on case action planning and safety planning, for GBV CM responses to specific types of violence and populations, e.g. adolescent girls and early marriage, survivors with disabilities and intimate partner violence, to name a few examples. Long awaited by the GBV community globally, the Interagency GBV CM Guidelines are essential for setting standards and providing guidance for GBV case management service provision to better meet the needs of GBV survivors in humanitarian settings.

Following the 2017 publication of the Interagency GBV CM Guidelines, the GBVIMS Global Team invested in a capacity-building initiative to operationalize the guidelines: the GBV Case Management Capacity Building Initiative (GBV CM CBI). In 2017-2018, pilot projects were implemented in Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria and Somalia to finalize and test the approach of the GBV CM CBI, as well as training materials and tools. Since September 2018 and thanks to funding from OFDA, more comprehensive rollouts of the GBV CM CBI have taken place in five target countries: Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger and Yemen.

The recently published 2020 Periodic Review of the Case Manageemnt Capacity Building Initiative is available here:

2020 Periodic Review of the Case Management Capacity Building Initiative

The CM CBI also resulted in the development of a comprehensive Rollout Strategy And Toolkit. The Strategy and Toolkit is designed to act as a guide, or set of recommendations, for actors wishing to roll out the GBV Case Management Guidelines, and is informed by lessons learned from all eight implementations of the GBV CM CBI led by the GBVIMS Global Team. Find the Strategy and Toolkit here:

Inter-Agency Gender-based Violence Case Management Capacity Building Initiative Strategy and Toolkit:

in English

in French

in Arabic

To learn more about the project, you can listen to a podcast on the Case Management Capacity Building Initiative with our very own Viginia Zuco, in English.

Inter-Agency Gender-based Violence Case Management Resource Package
The Inter-agency GBV Case Management Guidelines and accompanying training materials represent the culmination of a two-year project spearheaded by the Gender-based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS) Steering Committee to build capacity on GBV case management, information management, and strengthen the links between these in order to improve services provided to GBV survivors. This resource aims to set standards for quality, compassionate care for GBV survivors in humanitarian settings, with particular focus on the provision of case management services. The guidelines and the accompany training materials will provide GBV service providers in humanitarian settings with the information and guidance they need to establish and provide quality case management services to GBV survivors.

The resource package includes the following:

  • Inter-agency guidelines on the provision of care for GBV survivors, which outlines a survivor-centered approach and process. This includes guiding principles, consent processes, case management methods and protocols, and technical guidance for specific types of abuse and populations—for example, guidance on responding to intimate partner violence and child/early marriage, and for working with adolescent girls, male sexual violence survivors, LGBTI survivors and survivors with disabilities.
  • Case supervision strategies and tools;
  • Training materials that elaborate the content of the guidelines and can build the expertise of staff involved in providing case management and psychosocial care for GBV survivors.

Download the guidelines here [English]

*French and Arabic versions coming in October 2017

To download the tools and training materials, click here.

Latest news and updates

July 29, 2021

New Resources: GBVIMS+ Case Management Companion Guide: Now Out!

The GBVIMS+ Case Management Companion Guide is designed to accompany the GBVIMS+ User Guide and highlight the forms, features, and functionalities in GBVIMS+ that facilitate GBV case management service provision, supervision, including remote supervision, and monitoring quality of GBV case management services. Access the GBVIMS+ Case Management Companion Guide here

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July 26, 2021

Stories from the field: GBV Case Management Capacity Building in the Gambia.

Check out the latest update from the rollout of the GBV Case Management Capacity Building Initiative in the Gambia!

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February 5, 2021

COVID-19 Guidance on Remote GBV Services Focusing on Phone-based Case Management and Hotlines OUT NOW!!!

The COVID-19 Guidance on Remote GBV Services Focusing on Phone-based Case Management and Hotlines is OUT NOW!!! Through the GBV Area of Responsibility Helpdesk, GBV responder organisations and agencies International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Trócaire, Norwegian Church Aid, Plan International, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNHCR came together to develop this Guidance to assist GBV responders […]

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