Gender in Food Assistance

A Policy Perspective

Over the last decade, gender has become a key consideration for ensuring effective humanitarian assistance. Since 2013, humanitarian actors have passed several international policies against genderbased violence, sexual exploitation and abuse and policies supporting gender equality especially for women and girls. Canada’s 2017 Feminist International Assistance Policy included a policy on gender equality in humanitarian action. These policies recognize the particular challenges vulnerable people, especially women and girls, face in a humanitarian crisis. The policies underline the responsibility of humanitarian actors to consider gender in determining and responding to humanitarian needs.