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Cool Ground for Aid Providers: Towards Better Security Management in Aid Agencies
Author(s) -
Brabant Koenraad Van
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/1467-7717.00080
Subject(s) - vulnerability (computing) , agency (philosophy) , computer security , vulnerability assessment , context (archaeology) , risk analysis (engineering) , work (physics) , argument (complex analysis) , poison control , risk management , human factors and ergonomics , business , public relations , internet privacy , computer science , psychology , medical emergency , engineering , social psychology , medicine , political science , sociology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , finance , psychological resilience , biology , social science
Although full statistics are lacking, there is an impression that aid personnel are increasingly at risk from random, criminal and even at times targeted violence. The argument here is that the current tendency to reduce an agency’s vulnerability mainly through the use of protective procedures and devices may be necessary but is insufficient. Better practice in the management of security is an urgent need. Reducing vulnerability to attack is only one approach; deterring the threat of violence by counter‐threat, or seeking increased acceptance for the agency’s work and presence are two other approaches. Major skill development is required in the areas of conflict analysis and monitoring, threat assessment and incident analysis, since together these form the basis for appropriate security management. Improved analysis can then inform a conscious choice about which mixture of approaches is most appropriate in a specific context. The paper explores in some detail the factors that influence acceptance, but not the methods and basic principles in the use of counter‐threat.