What is coercion ?

Coercion means using force or threats to get someone to do something that they would not otherwise do.

Threatening to hurt someone unless they give you $100

Threatening to reveal a secret about someone unless they give you $100

Causing someone to engage in sexual activity in order to obtain/keep a job or receive allowances, medicine, or other free benefits

eLesson on Coercion:

Why should you care about coercion?

Puts individuals at risk of harm, physically or professionally

Conceals irregularities or the misuse of grant funds

Demonstrates a disregard of policies and procedures

Discredits the ability of the Global Fund to carry out its mission

eLesson on Coercion:

How do you spot Coercion?

Coercion can have the following red flags:

Individuals are threatened either physically or psychologically

Processes are influenced to achieve particular results and to favor certain individuals or entities

Employees are retaliated against for challenging the actions of line managers or other superiors

Employees are discouraged, or are not given the opportunity to speak out and report non-compliance

Procedures for reporting irregularities do not exist or are ineffective

Applicable policies and procedures do not exist or are not made available

eLesson on Coercion:

Case study on Coercion

Read case examples of coercion from the Office of the Inspector General archives

Private: Case Example of Coercion 1

29.10.2015

An employee of a sub-recipient wrote a progress report on the performance of his organization that identified a number of irregularities. The full report should have gone to the Principal Recipient and the Global Fund’s Country Team. However, the employee’s manager told him to remove references to the irregularities from the final report or he would be dismissed. In this case, the coercion led to the concealment of irregularities, which related to the potential loss of grant funds.

eLesson on Coercion:

Related case studies

eLesson on Coercion:

COERCION OR NOT? YOU DECIDE

Correct. The correct answers are A: NO, B: YES, C: NO.

The correct answers are A: NO, B: YES, C: NO.

What our leaders of integrity say:

Is this coercion?	YES	NO
A supplier offers a bribe to a procurement officer in order to obtain a contract.
A community worker tells a patient that they will only receive treatment if they engage in sex acts.
A patient is denied access to treatment because they are HIV+.

What is coercion ?

EXAMPLES

Why should you care about coercion?

How do you spot Coercion?

Case study on Coercion

Private: Case Example of Coercion 1

Related case studies

COERCION OR NOT? YOU DECIDE

What our leaders of integrity say:

“It is important that everyone is aware there are efforts by various civil society and community organizations, by the Office of the Inspector General and by the community rights and gender department to educate people around the issue of human rights.”

“The world set up the Global Fund to fight the three diseases and, therefore we are accountable to the world for the resources we have...every dollar counts, so speaking out now is absolutely critical.”

"When people steal medicines, when people engage in corruptive behavior, it’s a child that’s going to die of malaria potentially. It’s an HIV patient who is not going to get his or her drugs. It’s a pregnant mother who is not going to get the prenatal care that she’s entitled to.”

“Speak out. Because if you don’t speak out, people will lose their lives.”

“This whistle-blowing mechanism should be widely promoted so everybody is aware of it. There is something that each and every single one of us can do to help and support the Global Fund.”

“I think people somehow misunderstand what whistle-blowing is. They see it as a negative thing. But when you have a concern or when you see someone doing something you know is wrong, then speaking out is a good thing.”

“When you get information about wrongdoing, go to the Office of the Inspector General. They are the experts. They know how to deal with it and they will help you.”