Casualty recording is guided and moderated by 5 core principles which apply throughout a casualty recorder's activity: Do No Harm, Transparency, Responsibility, Inclusiveness, Consistency.
Do no harm: This requires humanitarian organisations to minimise the harm they may inadvertently cause given their presence within a particular context and the type of service they provide.
Transparency: Transparency helps to foster trust among practitioners and between practitioners and end-users, and assists in the recognition of the legitimacy of data.
Responsibility: An organisation can show responsibility in the protection of sources, staff and other people affected by the data collected, but can also exercise responsibility by being open about the fact that this is being done.
Inclusiveness: It means seeking to include all events and victims in their records without regard to whether this data supports an organisation’s political or other goals, and striving to use terms and definitions in their data that apply equally to all.
Consistency: This principle applies mostly to the methodological aspects of a casualty recorder’s work, and in particular to their data collection and data processing.
DEVELOPING STANDARDS FOR CASUALTY RECORDING A briefing document prepared by Every Casualty, pp. 8-9
