Today we are welcoming the brilliant Coline Rapneau on Bariscope - our first guest from outside academia with extensive experience as a humanitarian worker at the International Committee of the Red Cross. Before joining the ICRC Coline Rapneau completed her Master's Degree in international relations with a major in International Law at the Graduate institute here in Geneva, then worked as a humanitarian officer at the French permanent mission to the UN and spent three years as a legal assistant for the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda and ex-Yugoslavia. At the ICRC she spent 6 years as a protection delegate for victims of sexual violence in different countries, followed by several years as a sexual violence advisor and then as crowdfunding project manager at the Red Cross. After 13 years at the ICRC she is now manager at CHS Alliance (CHS standing for Core Humanitarian Standards) and is specialized in the protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. Coline Rapneau is also a certified professional and personal development coach, and she is here to give us very valuable tips on how to identify what future career path we should embark on and remind us of the importance of listening - to others and to ourselves, without judgement.

Do check out her powerful Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP3d4DOoqLo

CHS Alliance - aid workers mental health: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/aid-leaders-and-organisational-culture/

The Ebola WHO sexual abuse scandal: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2021/9/29/WHO-rocked-by-Ebola-sex-abuse-scandal-in-Congo

The Oxfam sexual exploitation scandal: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/15/timeline-oxfam-sexual-exploitation-scandal-in-haiti

It’s a hard conversation and thus all the more important that we have it - thank you for your interest!

And do send us any feedback you have on Instagram @bariscope_ccc! We will also be sharing Coline Rapneau's top book recommendations over there ;)

Have a great week and stay critically curious,

Lea & Lukas

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Timestamps

(03:13) - How do you get prepared (mentally) for a ICRC mission, how old were you when you went on your first mission and how many people were you working with?

(06:04) - Brief insights into Coline’s different missions

(08:10) - is there a difference between sexual violence in conflict and peacetime?

(12:30) - the role of aid workers and aid organisations in sexual abuse and violence

(16:25) - complaints mechanisms for survivors of sexual violence

(19:00) - how prevalent is sexual violence?

(20:18) - what are effective sexual violence prevention mechanisms?

(21:50) - why women are more vulnerable to be victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts without forgetting that men and boys can be victims too

(23:35) - the role of academia in centering sexual violence in research and potential collaboration with aid organisations

(26:07) - Coline’s advice to young people going into the humanitarian sector

(29:50) - the obstacle you may face when starting in the humanitarian sector

(30:40) - the importance of staff mental health and Coline’s experience dealing with isolation and difficult leaders

(35:45) - Coline’s motivation to be a personal development coach

(38:30) - Questions to ask yourself to find your purpose, values and boundaries

(40:30) - wrap-up: the most urgent changes in the aid sector and good practices to reinforce

(44:10) - Coline’s three tips to her 20-year-old self