Protection Program

About the Program

SEEN approaches protection as a continuous process of prevention, response, and resilience-building—rather than a one-time intervention after harm occurs.

The Protection Program works to safeguard the safety and dignity of individuals, particularly women, queer and trans people, and those with diverse gender and sexual identities, within contexts marked by structural violence, political fragility, and social and legal criminalization. SEEN adopts a feminist, intersectional, survivor-centered protection approach that places political, social, and cultural contexts at its core, understanding risk as a product of unequal power relations rather than individual choices.

Protection Strategies

We aspire to build safer communities with the capacity to protect themselves, where individuals are not left alone to face violence, exclusion, or threats.
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Protection vision is grounded in prevention before risk, support during crises, and accompaniment after trauma, through flexible, community-based tools that can adapt to changing contexts across Southwest Asia (Damascus, Istanbul, Amman, Baghdad, Beirut, Tehran, Jerusalem) and the wider region.

SEEN understands protection not merely as a service or an emergency response, but as a daily political and social practice—one that confronts structural violence, resists exclusion, and redefines safety as a non-negotiable collective right rather than a conditional privilege.

Contextual

and Proactive Protection Risk Analysis

Guidance Line

A Core Protection Mechanism

Non-Hierarchical Work and Community Accountability

We adopt participatory and non-hierarchical models of work that actively involve team members and the community in reflection, evaluation, and accountability processes. This approach strengthens transparency and mutual responsibility.
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Confidentiality and Data Protection

We maintain a strict commitment to confidentiality and data protection in both direct and digital communication. All information is handled with the highest level of sensitivity to ensure the safety of individuals and to prevent any additional harm or risk.
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Gender Justice and Intersectionality

Our work is guided by an intersectional understanding of injustice and violence. We recognize the interconnected impact of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, class, disability, ethnicity, and political context, ensuring responses that are just, inclusive, and non-exclusionary.
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Survivor-Centered Approach

We are committed to accompanying survivors in ways that respect their lived experiences and prioritize their needs and choices. We do not impose predetermined pathways or decisions. Our approach is grounded in safety, dignity, respect, and the principle of doing no harm.
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Latest Resources & Opportunities

December 5, 2025

Protection Analysis Framework

The Protection Analysis Framework (PAF) is an analytical tool developed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to help humanitarian and human rights actors understand risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and capacities affecting individuals and communities.

Guides

December 2, 2025

Designing Inclusive Protection Practices

Practical guidance on how to communicate, design content, and implement protection interventions that are accessible, respectful, and responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities.

Guides

November 25, 2025

Social Counseling Hotline Trainings

Building safe, community-based spaces for psychosocial support, ethical referrals, and inclusive protection responses in times of crisis.

Capacity Building

SEEN