Oxfam Loses 7000 Donors Since Sexual Exploitation Scandal
Oxfam has lost 7000 regular donors since it was revealed that staff sexually exploited victims of the Haiti earthquake in 2010, its chief executive has told a committee of MPs, which accused the charity of treating vulnerable women “like trinkets”.
During questioning by the international development committee, Mark Goldring apologised to MPs for the actions of staff who were dismissed for their use of sex workers in Haiti, and acknowledged that the charity’s actions had damaged the whole aid community, as well as the people of Haiti. The Labour MP Stephen Twigg, who chairs the committee, said it was striking how often Goldring needed to apologise during the near-two-hour evidence session, saying there was “a lot to apologise for”. Mr Goldring said there had been 26 reports of sexual misconduct since the news of the Haiti abuse broke, of which 16 related to international programmes.
“We really want people to come forward wherever they are and whenever this happened,” he said.
He also admitted thousands of people had cancelled their donations since the scandal broke and said corporate donors were waiting to watch what the charity’s response would be. On another difficult day for Oxfam, which culminated in Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary, saying the former executives Dame Barbara Stocking and Penny Lawrence may have deliberately misled the Charity Commission, a Guardian/ICM poll of more than 2000 people revealed the effect the scandal has had on the public perception of aid charities.
Asked people whether they were “less likely to donate to humanitarian charities such as Oxfam in the future”, 35 per cent said they were less likely and 24 per cent no less likely, with 32 per cent saying they did not donate anyway. Of those who said they already donated, 52 per cent said they would now be less likely to fund humanitarian causes. Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary at the Department for International Development, told the committee that the Oxfam scandal had undermined public support for spending money on aid.
“The reputation of the sector, the reputation of aid, the reputation of the 0.7 per cent commitment, all of those I think have been pulled into the mix,” he said.