Child abuse among 80 new sex claims reported by charities
The foreign aid sex scandal deepened last night as it emerged charities have reported dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct – some involving children – over the past three weeks.
Penny Mordaunt revealed that 26 aid charities – one in seven of those who accept public money – had come forward.
The International Development Secretary said that in total, there were 80 previously unknown cases where people had been harmed or placed at risk.
The Charity Commission said the cases covered the ‘full spectrum’ of safeguarding breaches, including reports of children being sexually abused. But it refused to name the charities involved, sparking fears of a cover-up.
Miss Mordaunt said it was a ‘wake-up call’ for the sector, which has been reeling since the Oxfam sex scandal erupted. Speaking at a safeguarding summit in London, she warned predators exploiting the aid sector that there was ‘no hiding place’.
She said: ‘ We will find you, we will bring you to justice. Your time is up.’ The Charity Commission said the breaches ranged from procedures not being followed to ‘ actual incidents of abuse, including sexual abuse of staff, volunteers and beneficiaries, including children’.
A spokesman for the regulator said it would not publish the names of the charities involved unless the scandal led to a full inquiry.
Separately, the Department for International Development revealed that over the past two decades, there had been 14 cases where DfID staff were found responsible for ‘ misconduct of a sexual nature’. Most of these relate to sexual harassment between staff members.
The department said sexual harassment could include a range of actions from complaints of inappropriate language to more serious, isolated incidents.
DfID said none of these cases included proven allegations of its staff paying for sex, and there was no information to suggest misconduct of a sexual nature involving staff and under-18s or of sexual exploitation in exchange for aid.
Miss Mordaunt wrote to 179 aid charities and organisations after it emerged there were widespread concerns about the behaviour of aid workers and the way they were being dealt with. All have responded and given statements of assurance about the way they operate, but 37 still have questions to answer, the summit heard.
New standards have come into force that aid organisations must meet to be eligible for Government money, Miss Mordaunt said.
‘These standards will include an assessment of codes of conduct, how organisations identify and respond to incidents, and how their risk management places safeguarding and beneficiaries at the very core.
‘That assessment will set the bar at a level of the very best – a bar that we will continue to push higher. Our standards will be world-leading. They will be tough and exacting.’
‘We will bring you to justice’