Sex scandal: Oxfam faces South Sudan abuse claim

London, Feb. 13: Scandal- hit British charity Oxfam was reeling Tuesday after fresh claims of sexual assault and cover- up in South Sudan, as Haiti’s President condemned the behaviour of some of its staff in his country as “undignified and dishonest”.

Helen Evans, former global head of safeguarding, also warned of assaults on children volunteering in Oxfam’s hundreds of high- street charity shops in Britain.

She accused senior managers of failing to act, heaping pressure on chief executive Mark Goldring just hours after his deputy resigned over a scandal involving aid workers’ use of prostitutes in Haiti and Chad.

Haitian President Jovenel Moise spoke out about the scandal on Tuesday saying there was “nothing more undignified and dishonest” than humanitarian aid workers exploiting “needy people”.

Evans told Channel 4 News of a survey conducted during her 20122015 tenure which exposed a “culture of sexual abuse” in some Oxfam offices.

The survey of 120 staff across three countries found between 11 and 14 percent said they witnessed or experienced sexual assault.

Seven percent of staff in South Sudan — four people — witnessed or experienced rape or attempted rape involving colleagues.