PSEAH and Travel Safety for Organizations (Part 1): What It Is and Why It Matters

When organizations talk about travel safety, they usually focus on the basics. Where people stay. How they move around. What to do in an emergency. These things matter and they save lives but they are not enough in today's challenging environment.

For organizations that send people abroad, whether staff, consultants, or contractors, travel safety also includes how people behave once they arrive. That is where PSEAH awareness comes in.

PSEAH stands for Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment. In simple terms, it refers to the responsibility organizations have to prevent sexual harm linked to power, access, and authority. While the term is most commonly used in international civil society organizations and NGOs, the risks it addresses are present wherever people travel and work across borders.

In international civil society organizations and NGOs, sexual exploitation most often involves employees or representatives taking advantage of power differences for sexual gain, usually involving local populations or people in vulnerable situations.

Sexual harassment typically occurs between employees, contractors, or partners within an organization. It may involve unwanted comments, pressure, or behavior that creates an intimidating or hostile environment, and it is frequently underreported during travel.

Sexual abuse refers to any unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature. It is a serious violation regardless of context or intent.

Understanding these distinctions matters because they involve different risks, different reporting barriers, and different safeguards.

At its core, PSEAH is about power, boundaries, and responsibility. All three factors are directly affected by international travel where the risks tend to rise. 

SEAH Occurs More Often Than Reported

In the author’s experience, SEAH cases occur far more often than organizations tend to realize. This is not because incidents are rare, but because many incidents never enter formal reporting systems.

Barriers to reporting are common. People may not trust internal investigative processes. They may fear retaliation or reputational damage. In some cases, they do not believe reporting will lead to any action.

Organizational culture plays a significant role. When safeguarding is treated as a compliance requirement rather than a shared responsibility, trust erodes. When leadership behavior contradicts stated values, silence becomes the safer option.

The absence of clear safeguards and investigation pathways compounds the problem. If staff do not know who to contact, what will happen next, or whether confidentiality will be respected, reporting feels risky. During travel, when people are isolated and far from support structures, these barriers are even higher.

Why Travel Safety and PSEAH Are Often Separated

In many large organizations, travel safety sits with operations or security teams. PSEAH sits with HR, compliance, or safeguarding units. On paper, this division seems logical however, in practice, it creates significant gaps.

Exploitation, abuse, and harassment often occur in both formal and informal settings including hotels, during transport, at social events, or after work hours in a variety of different settings. These are precisely the spaces where travel safety planning tends to end. When staff travel without practical guidance on conduct, boundaries, and reporting, they are left to navigate risk alone. This affects not only local communities, but also colleagues, partners, and contractors.

What This Article Has Covered and What Comes Next

This article has focused on what PSEAH is, how it commonly occurs in travel contexts, and why it is frequently underreported. It has also explored why separating PSEAH from travel safety leaves organizations exposed to risk.

Part 2 will focus on how organizations can address PSEAH in practice, including:

• Reducing risk before travel;

• Strengthening reporting and investigation mechanisms;

• Building trust in safeguarding systems; and

• Integrating PSEAH into duty of care and travel safety planning.