This guide provides standards and directions on how to carry out rapid needs assessment for Psychosocial Support (PSS) and Violence Prevention (VP) initiatives including child protection and sexual and gender-based violence. In particular, this rapid assessment tool is designed to help gather data in an efficient and effective way to help inform integration of PSS and VP issues, as minimum standards, into the broader disaster management action plans in response to an emergency.
The content of this guide supplements and reinforces existing IFRC disaster assessment tools such as the Operational Guidance: Initial Rapid Multi-sectoral Assessment; Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA); and Integrating Climate Change and Urban Risks into the VCA. Given that each emergency and context is unique, this guide is designed in parts that can be used in pieces or as a whole based on the discretion of the assessment team. The most important part addresses the perspectives of local communities – guidance is outlined for asking seven essential questions when time is limited and more detailed questions are available for situations where greater time is available.
Issues that are mainstreamed in this guide are: gender, diversity and child protection.
