U.K. official warns Oxfam to hand over all info on sex case

Sex predators are targeting aid organizations because of the chaotic environments in which they work, Britain’s top development official warned Sunday as she threatened to pull public funding from Oxfam unless it came clean about a sexual misconduct scandal in Haiti.

Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt excoriated the leadership of Oxfam for its handling of allegations that some of the anti-poverty charity’s staff in Haiti used prostitutes, including some who may have been minors.

Mordaunt also made clear that all aid agencies must be vigilant in tackling sex abuse and display “moral leadership” or risk losing their taxpayer funding.

“What is so disturbing about Oxfam is that when this was reported to them, they completely failed to do the right thing,” Mordaunt told the BBC on Sunday. “That’s what we need to focus on, and that’s what ultimately will stop predatory individuals from being able to take advantage of vulnerable people.”

The Sunday Times reported that 120 people working for British charities were accused of sexual abuse in the past year, though it did not specify the exact dates.

Oxfam had the largest number of individuals involved at 87 but Save the Children, Christian Aid and the British Red Cross were also implicated, the Times said.