Gender-Based Violence Case Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends GBV Caseworkers, Protection Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HR-039

Before you join: Participants should have basic professional experience in humanitarian response, development projects, safeguarding, protection, social services, health, community engagement or project delivery.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Gender-based violence case management requires disciplined, survivor-centred decisions under pressure. Staff must assess immediate safety, obtain meaningful informed consent, protect highly sensitive information, and coordinate referrals without exposing survivors to further harm. In humanitarian operations and development projects, these responsibilities also connect to safeguarding systems, contractor conduct, community feedback mechanisms and World Bank Environmental and Social Framework requirements.

This course develops the practical judgement and documentation skills needed to manage GBV cases safely and ethically. Participants work through the case management process from safe entry points and first disclosure to risk assessment, case action planning, referrals, follow-up and safe closure. The course examines the Interagency GBV Case Management Guidelines, the IASC Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions, GBVIMS+ information-management principles, and relevant World Bank Environmental and Social Standards. Particular attention is given to ESS2 labour and working conditions, ESS4 community health and safety, worker codes of conduct, grievance mechanisms and project-level GBV action plans.

Instructor-led teaching combines short technical briefings with realistic cases drawn from displacement settings, cash programmes, health services, infrastructure projects and contractor-managed workforces. Participants analyse case information, make referral and consent decisions, test documentation controls, and apply World Bank social-risk requirements to project scenarios. Each participant leaves with a reusable GBV case management toolkit containing templates, checklists and an action plan suited to their role.

The course is designed for staff who already work in protection, safeguarding, social development, project implementation, health, education, cash assistance, infrastructure or community engagement roles and need to handle GBV concerns responsibly.

What you will be able to do

  • Apply survivor-centred case management principles during disclosures, assessment and follow-up
  • Conduct GBV risk assessments and develop safety plans using structured case information
  • Document cases using informed-consent, confidentiality and data-protection controls
  • Build referral pathways and make safe, survivor-led referrals to specialist services
  • Use case action plans to coordinate follow-up, review progress and close cases safely
  • Assess project GBV risks using World Bank ESS2 and ESS4 requirements
  • Develop worker codes of conduct and grievance procedures for project-related GBV risks
  • Prepare a role-specific GBV case management and project safeguarding action plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make safer decisions when a survivor discloses violence or requests assistance
  • Use a structured case file without recording unnecessary identifying information
  • Explain consent, confidentiality and mandatory reporting limits with greater confidence
  • Recognise when to manage, refer or escalate a case through approved pathways
  • Translate World Bank social requirements into practical project safeguarding controls

For your organisation

  • More consistent survivor-centred handling of GBV disclosures and referrals
  • Reduced risk of harmful information sharing, unsafe referrals and inappropriate investigations
  • Clearer case documentation, supervision and case closure practices
  • Stronger ESS2 and ESS4 controls for workers, contractors and affected communities
  • Actionable improvements to codes of conduct, grievance channels and GBV risk plans

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can apply ethical, survivor-centred principles to decisions throughout the case management process.

  • Forms, drivers and power dynamics shaping gender-based violence risk
  • Survivor-centred principles: safety, confidentiality, dignity, non-discrimination and informed consent
  • Do-no-harm decisions when identifying, referring or documenting survivor information
  • Intersectionality analysis for disability, age, displacement, sexuality and identity
  • GBV risk mitigation versus specialised survivor case management responsibilities
  • Roles of health, protection, legal and psychosocial service providers

Participants can respond appropriately to a disclosure and establish safe entry into services.

  • Safe disclosure responses using listen, believe, validate and support techniques
  • Psychological first aid boundaries for non-clinical case management staff
  • Informed consent conversations before collecting or sharing any case information
  • Explaining confidentiality limits, including imminent harm and mandatory reporting
  • Immediate safety checks for survivors, children and dependent family members
  • Managing disclosures received through hotlines, complaints channels and outreach

Participants can assess survivor priorities, risks and strengths and prepare a safety plan.

  • Intake assessment sequence from survivor priorities to immediate protection concerns
  • Risk indicators involving perpetrators, household members, armed actors and authorities
  • Safety planning for communication, travel, housing, children and essential documents
  • Assessing barriers created by stigma, disability, language, cost and legal status
  • Child safeguarding thresholds and referral duties for survivors under eighteen
  • Strengths-based assessment identifying survivor resources, choices and support networks

Participants can create, review and close survivor-led case action plans safely.

  • Case action plans linking survivor goals, services, responsibilities and timelines
  • Prioritising actions when safety, health, legal and economic needs compete
  • Follow-up schedules based on survivor preference, risk level and service availability
  • Case conferencing rules: minimum information, consent and need-to-know participation
  • Supervision structures for complex cases, ethical dilemmas and staff wellbeing
  • Safe closure criteria, re-entry options and documentation of unresolved needs

Participants can establish and use safe referral pathways that preserve survivor choice.

  • Referral pathway mapping for clinical care, psychosocial support, protection and justice
  • Service mapping criteria: eligibility, cost, accessibility, quality and confidentiality
  • Warm referrals, survivor accompaniment and consent-based information transfer
  • Clinical management referral timing after sexual violence and urgent health needs
  • Memoranda of understanding defining referral responsibilities and data-sharing boundaries
  • Coordination protocols with shelters, police, legal aid and child protection services

Participants can maintain secure case records and use data only for authorised purposes.

  • Minimum necessary data principle for GBV case files and referrals
  • Consent forms specifying purpose, recipient, expiry and withdrawal options
  • Secure paper files, password controls, access logs and retention schedules
  • GBVIMS+ principles for incident data, access control and data sharing
  • De-identification techniques for reports, donor updates and coordination discussions
  • Data breach response steps: containment, assessment, notification and corrective action

Participants can identify GBV-related duties within World Bank project social risk management.

  • World Bank Environmental and Social Framework structure and project responsibilities
  • ESS2 requirements for labour management, worker conduct and grievance mechanisms
  • ESS4 requirements for community health, safety and project-related GBV risks
  • ESS10 stakeholder engagement, accessible complaints channels and survivor protection
  • Environmental and Social Commitment Plan actions addressing GBV risk controls
  • Risk classification factors for large works, labour influx and remote communities

Participants can assess project-related GBV risks and specify proportionate mitigation measures.

  • GBV risk assessment using project footprint, workforce and community factors
  • Labour influx analysis covering housing, transport, supervision and local tensions
  • Contractor due diligence for safeguarding policies, capacity and disciplinary procedures
  • Mitigation measures for cash transfers, distributions, worksites and transport services
  • Community consultation methods that identify risks without soliciting survivor disclosures
  • GBV action plans with accountabilities, milestones, budgets and monitoring indicators

Participants can design project controls for prevention, reporting and response to misconduct.

  • Worker codes of conduct defining prohibited conduct and enforceable sanctions
  • Induction and refresher messaging for employees, contractors and security personnel
  • Survivor-centred grievance mechanisms separate from formal case management services
  • Reporting channels designed for accessibility, confidentiality, trust and non-retaliation
  • Incident response protocols distinguishing administrative action from criminal investigation
  • Managing allegations against staff while preserving survivor safety and due process

Participants can monitor case management quality and implement improvements in their own role.

  • Case file audits using quality standards, consent checks and supervision notes
  • Service quality indicators measuring timeliness, safety, choice and referral completion
  • Feedback mechanisms that protect survivors from retaliation and repeated disclosure
  • Caseworker wellbeing plans addressing vicarious trauma, workload and boundaries
  • Escalation matrices for safeguarding incidents, service failures and security threats
  • Ninety-day application plan with actions, owners, resources and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Survivor-centred case management workflow
  2. GBV intake and informed-consent template
  3. Individual safety planning checklist
  4. Multi-sector referral pathway map
  5. World Bank GBV risk assessment matrix
  6. Ninety-day safeguarding action plan

Who should attend

  • GBV Caseworkers — need structured methods for safe assessment, referral and follow-up
  • Protection Officers — manage survivor support and protection risks within humanitarian programmes
  • Safeguarding Focal Points — handle concerns, reporting pathways and organisational safeguarding duties
  • Social Development Specialists — apply World Bank social standards to project GBV risks
  • Project Managers — oversee contractor, community and grievance arrangements on funded projects
  • Health and Psychosocial Staff — coordinate confidential survivor referrals and continuity of care

Skills and tools covered

Survivor-centred case managementGBV risk assessmentSafe referral coordinationConfidential case documentationESS2 and ESS4Safeguarding action planning

Tools and standards

Interagency GBV Case Management Guidelines, IASC Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions, GBVIMS+, World Bank Environmental and Social Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings, guided case analysis, small-group decision exercises, referral-mapping work and facilitated simulations of disclosure and consent conversations. Participants examine anonymised humanitarian and project cases, including contractor misconduct, community complaints and barriers to survivor services. Trainers use structured debriefs to connect decisions to the Interagency GBV Case Management Guidelines, IASC guidance and World Bank standards. Individual application planning helps participants adapt templates and controls to their own referral network, mandate and reporting arrangements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic professional experience in humanitarian response, development projects, safeguarding, protection, social services, health, community engagement or project delivery. They should understand their organisation's reporting lines and have some familiarity with working confidentially with vulnerable people. Prior GBV case management training is useful but not required. The course does not require clinical qualifications, legal training, counselling certification, prior World Bank project experience or specialist knowledge of information-management systems. It is not a substitute for supervised practice required by employers for direct casework.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need some experience in humanitarian, development, safeguarding, protection, social service or project roles. They do not need to be qualified counsellors, investigators or World Bank specialists.

Bring your organisation's safeguarding policy, referral protocol, code of conduct or project social documents if these can be shared internally. Personal case files, survivor names and identifiable incident details must not be brought into the classroom.

It suits staff with direct or indirect responsibility for GBV concerns, survivor referrals, safeguarding systems or project social risk. It is particularly relevant to caseworkers, protection staff, social development specialists, project managers and contractor-management teams.

This course focuses on survivor-centred GBV case management, referral coordination and project GBV risk controls. It does not train participants to conduct criminal investigations, forensic interviews or clinical trauma treatment.

Participants can review their intake forms, consent process, referral map, case-file controls and escalation routes immediately after the course. Project staff can also apply the GBV risk matrix to contractor arrangements, community engagement and grievance channels.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with about 6.5 contact hours daily. The five days progress from survivor-centred case management to documentation, referrals, World Bank standards, project controls and role-based application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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