Collective protection recognises that the security of human rights defenders is interconnected with the security of those in their network, be it family, friends, colleagues, or neighbours. This main tenet is central to any collective protection strategy; however, the way that any individual strategy is developed will vary, and depend on the mission, profile, context, and needs of the particular defender and their network.
Tag: (Em)powered by Open Briefing
Psychological First Aid: Guidance for those supporting activists and advocates at risk
Psychological First Aid (PFA) is an evidence-based approach for assisting people of any age or background in the immediate aftermath of a critical incident or crisis. In this resource, Open Briefing's wellbeing and resilience team offers vital guidance on how to provide PFA to activists and advocates you may be supporting. It also describes common responses to traumatic events and explains self-care measures affected people can follow. It is available online and to download in 10 languages.
Open Briefing X Riskline: Travel and country risk portal for grantmakers and nonprofits
Open Briefing has partnered with Riskline to provide grantmakers and NGOs a comprehensive travel and country risk portal at exclusive nonprofit rates.
Features
Destination reports 🌎
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and the expertise of experienced analysts, the heart of the portal is regularly-updated reports for more than 225 countries and territories around the world. These detailed threat assessments include an overview of the security and travel safety situation in a country, and detailed analysis of the political, terrorism, conflict, unrest, crime, natural, health, and local transport risks. The reports also include specific safety advice for female and LGBT+ travellers and those dependent on technology and communications during travel.
Country-level reports are enhanced by city safety reports for more than 250 global cities. These reports include city-specific threats and other local knowledge. Both the country- and city-level reports include easy-to-understand risk levels – from 1 Low to 5 Extreme. Reports are regularly updated based on major developments and the overall risk reassessed shortly afterwards. All reports are also reviewed and reissued annually.
Other key features of the risk portal include:
Risk maps 🗺
Country maps help users visualise high-risk areas and recent security and travel alerts, while the city maps illustrate local information and advice down to the street level.
Risk alerts ⚠️
Risk alerts provide concise reports of immediate threats in locations of interest. Each alert contains essential intelligence, practical advice, and precise geographic data about risks to safety or impacts on travel plans. Users can also choose to receive email or in-portal notifications for updates for specific countries or regions of interest.
Risk advisories 📄
Risk advisories are frequently updated and provide detailed assessments of complex local developments, ongoing security situations, and upcoming events, including political and security crises, persisting travel disruptions, and major upcoming events, such as elections.
COVID-19 risk ☣️
Detailed information on local restrictions and entry and exit requirements for 225 countries and territories plus infection risk levels for the country and any cities covered by city safety reports.
Daily Brief 🗞
Full and enterprise plans also include the Daily Brief email, which contains the most-important security and travel updates of the last 24 hours and information on critical events planned for that day.
Plans
Grantmakers and nonprofits with an annual turnover of less than £10 million receive an additional 25% discount on the usual plan fees. Plans start at less than £6 per user a month.* All plans are for 12 months and plus VAT for UK clients.
Please contact us for a demo and information on pricing as well as details of how we can help integrate the portal into your risk assessments and travel procedures. More information is also available in our mini site at https://riskline.openbriefing.org/.
* For the Enterprise plan at the community rate. Payable annually.
A guide to insurance for NGOs operating in violent environments
Insurance is an important form of risk management for NGOs that might not be able to bear a significant unplanned financial loss resulting from a security or medical incident in the field. Yet, engaging with brokers and insurers to purchase the right insurance policies can be a confusing and sometimes frustrating process. To help, we have republished our guide from 2018 and included Arabic, German, Spanish, and Portuguese translations kindly provided by the volunteers at Charity Translators.
A new quick reference card for foundations supporting grantees in attacks and other emergencies
Progressive grantmakers are increasingly keen to foster the safety and resilience of their grantees in the face of increased attacks, harassment, and censorship. As has been shown in Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, grantmakers' resources, connections, and influence, mean that they are also frequently called upon to respond to serious attacks and other emergencies affecting their grantees. To support grantmakers in these roles, we have distilled our experiences supporting the safety and resilience of foundations and their grantees around the world into a quick reference card.
Resources for protest leaders and aid workers added to Holistic Security Toolkit
We have added protest leaders and aid workers to the list of communities covered by our Holistic Security Toolkit. The Toolkit is a curated library of essential resources for specific communities of at-risk civic actors. The third-party resources can be filtered by one or more of the following variables: Language (English, Spanish), Community (Women human rights defenders, LGBT+ activists, Environmental defenders, Freelance journalists, Protest leaders, Aid workers) or Domain (Safety and security, Digital security, Wellbeing and resilience).
The Holistic Security Protocol for Human Rights Defenders
Open Briefing has today launched the Holistic Security Protocol for Human Rights Defenders. The Defender’s Protocol will help at-risk defenders around the world advance their physical safety, digital security, and wellbeing and resilience. By following the protocol, defenders can enhance their individual and collective security, and reduce the burden of attacks, harassment, and censorship on them and their communities.