New policy to advance gender and SOGIESC equality and inclusion

“Gender and SOGIESC equality are prerequisites for creating a world where children can thrive free from exploitation.” This powerful message from TdH NL’s Gender and SOGIESC Policy captures its core significance and purpose: To achieve our mission to prevent and end child exploitation, gender and SOGIESC equality and inclusion must be prioritised across all areas of our work and organisation.

TdH NL’s Gender and SOGIESC Policy lays out a clear, actionable vision and roadmap to embed gender equality and inclusion across all operations, advocacy, and programmes. It further reinforces our commitment to tackling gender and SOGIESC inequalities and harmful gender norms as root causes behind child exploitation. 

This Policy applies to all TdH NL staff and partners, while allowing space for local adaptation and contextualisation. It defines our understanding of gender and SOGIESC, outlines why this topic matters, key principles, roles and responsibilities for various teams and departments, and an operational framework, ensuring a cohesive, consistent and sustainable approach across all offices and field operations. 

The adoption and implementation of this Policy across diverse country offices and teams will enable TdH NL to champion gender and SOGIESC rights, equality and inclusion, drive systemic change and deliver holistic, sustainable solutions to protect and empower children and communities worldwide. 

The gender and SOGIESC dimensions of child exploitation

To support TdH NL’s Gender and SOGIESC Policy, we have also launched a series of three focus briefs delving into the specific gender and SOGIESC dimensions of child exploitation. There is one focus brief for each TdH NL Thematic Programme: Sexual Exploitation of Children, Child Labour, and Child Exploitation in Humanitarian Contexts. 

Expanding on the Gender and SOGIESC Policy, these focus briefs dive deeper into child exploitation as a form of gender-based violence, exploring how harmful gender norms and gender and SOGIESC inequalities shape the risk and manifestation of child exploitation.

These evidence-based focus briefs aim to expand awareness around the specific gender and SOGIESC dimensions of child exploitation, to inspire more effective, targeted interventions that tackle root causes of harmful gender norms and gender and SOGIESC inequalities that perpetuate the problem of child exploitation.