Security from Experience VI: Javeria Malik (ActionAid International)

Javeria Malik is global security advisor for ActionAid and she is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. ActionAid is an international federation with offices in about 45 countries. Each office has its own security focal point, but Javeria is responsible for overarching security issues and strategies.

She is a journalist by profession and worked as a national TV anchor and writer in Pakistan. Afterwards, she moved on to the field of communication, first at a Corporate Social Responsibility unit of a big multinational cooperation and afterwards at ActionAid Pakistan.

For ActionAid Pakistan she also was the security focal point. She is interested in the field of security management because  she sees it as a combination between science and art. It is about crafting and engineering new ways to manage risks and to find safer alternatives and it is constantly challenging you.

Javeria explains that security is an emerging field, especially in the NGO sector where earlier  the focus has  mainly been on the technicalities of humanitarian work, with little attention to political risk management.

ActionAid is doing a lot of Human Rights based work and they challenge unequal power structures and structural causes of poverty. Risks, especially political, are therefore an integral part of the existence of the organisation. A lot of Javeria’s work is not about risk avoidance or mitigation, but about enhancing capacities to overcome risks. Her perspective as a security advisor from a global federation and her roots in the Global South makes this an interesting interview about international security management, the role of women in security management and working in local communities.

Security management in an international federation
As a security advisor of an international federation, it is important to balance the different security needs within the federation. Javeria explains that it is important to keep eyes and ears open and to be able to learn and unlearn things. People in the North and South have different perceptions on security and the best way to deal with that is to be open to embrace all the knowledge and experience present. Javeria’s approach is to learn together as a federation. The people working on the ground form an important source of information, so it is important to learn from them. When developing security policies, Javeria makes sure that the people who will use the policies, also feed into the process. Their knowledge and risk perception will be consolidated in the security policies.

Each country with an ActionAid office has someone as security focal point. These focal points are constantly in touch and share knowledge with each other and are responsible for the security policies of their country. In the case of travelling staff, the responsibility for their security lies with the host country, and where necessary Javeria supports country teams in building appropriate systems and mechanism to meet  the federation’s duty of care obligations.

Although there are minimum standards for all countries, security policies often need to be catered towards the local context. The Global South often requires more comprehensive and thorough policies because of the risks on the ground. For instance, ActionAid carries out large multi country campaigns and each is preceded by a thorough risk assessment.  In the North, these assessments mainly focus on reputational, legal and brand risks, while the same campaign designed in the global South needs to think about state intimidation, administrative, political and security risks.

Women and security
Javeria explains that traditionally more men than women are involved in the domain of security management, while women can make a valuable contribution. Women are often considered to be vulnerable, while there are many situations in which risks are lower for women than for men. For instance, in areas where there are ethnic tensions, men are targeted because they are considered to be the power and are often viewed as the sole representatives of their community, clan or tribe.

Most repression and violence is often  focused on the “fighting aged males” who traditionally represent the force/ power of a group. They often let women go. The negative, patriarchal perceptions of women who are not capable of anything can work in their favour. Moreover, women can provide a different perspective on security issues and in some cases they have access to parts of society that are not accessible for men.

Javeria experienced it herself while traveling to the Northwest region in Pakistan, where terrorists were active,  a lot of male colleagues were hesitant to visit the area, while as a woman, Javeria never experienced problems at for instance check points. Javeria is happy to be able to use her experiences as a woman in these regions and finds it important that the role that women can play, especially in the Global South, is recognised.

The core of security policies
Javeria indicates three crucial elements of security policies. Firstly, it should be clear what the scope of the policy is and what its parameters are: where does it apply and when? For instance ActionAid’s security policies only apply when people are on duty. In personal time it is more of a suggestion and not binding. Secondly, every policy needs to define the ‘risk appetite’ of an organisation. There needs to be clear organisational stance on ‘how far to go and when to stop’. For example, situations of sexual assault, threat to life or kidnappings are reasons for ActionAid not to proceed unless the risks can be reduced. Thirdly, policies need to define what the minimum standards are that every country programme and team needs to have in place, irrespective of the level of operational risk.

Javeria is still working on creating a security culture, which is essential for the effective implementation of policies and protocols. There is already a massive improvement, but sometimes people have the misconception that security means you cannot do something. However, for Javeria security means doing something sensibly. A balance needs to be found between doing your work and irresponsible risk taking. Javeria believes that in any organisation, security culture needs to be developed top down and decision makers have the most responsibility to demonstrate commitment to staff security principles.

The biggest challenge for Javeria is that no two situations are ever going to be alike and every situation takes the same amount of homework, energy and consultation. Moreover, it is a 24/7 job. There could be a security situation when sleeping, partying or at any other moment. This is a challenge, in particular for women, who in many parts of the world often have multiple roles. It is important to take time to sleep and rest and to look out after your own well being.

Keeping up with global developments
The fact that the world is becoming less safe, is a big challenge. However, Javeria believes that their work with local communities and their good networks provides a good first buffer. Next to being a good programming technique, community acceptance is also essential for security management. However, this is challenged in some areas because of the population displacement across borders and regions. Community structures fall apart and people no longer know each other that well when displaced. That breaks the first line of defence. Secondly, technology is developing fast and is getting more and more advanced. It is crucial to review technologies and protection against surveillance. Javeria is worried that the NGO sector is not able to move as fast as the ‘bad guys’ because they do not have the same amount of resources.

Javeria is proud of the big leap that the security focal Points (SFPs) in ActionAid have taken since the community of practice was born. It is important to constantly challenge the notion that security is a tough field  and only  a few people with certain backgrounds can do. She believes that security is about structured common sense, joined up with knowledge, understanding and wisdom from indigenous sources and this together makes an organisation able to manage risks in the best possible way.