How to Capture Outcomes in Protection Case Management

“How do we prove impact when we can’t safely collect baseline data?”

That’s the question that protection teams everywhere are grappling with.When your work involves survivors of gender-based violence or communities affected by conflict, traditional monitoring tools can feel not just inappropriate, but unsafe.

Yet donors still need evidence. Practitioners still need to learn what’s working. So how do you measure outcomes ethically, credibly, and compassionately?

Turns out, it can be done. There’s a growing body of evidence from humanitarian settings proving that even with all the ethical and logistical constraints, outcome measurement is possible and powerful.

1. Measuring change when the stakes are high

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) tested a new way to track outcomes for survivors of gender-based violence.Instead of just counting “cases closed,” they looked at what actually changed for survivors during case management.

Their GBV Case Management Outcome Monitoring Toolkit (2018) introduced two short self-assessment tools—a 10-item Psychosocial Functionality Scale and a 10-item Felt Stigma Scale.

Survivors completed these with their caseworker midway through the support process and again at closure.The results? Quantifiable improvements in daily functioning and reduced stigma—without putting anyone at risk.Because the surveys were short, integrated into normal case meetings, and administered once trust was built, they offered meaningful data while keeping survivors safe.

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