Oxfam admits terrible abuse of power over sex scandals
Rapped over Haiti prostitutes probe
Hauwermeiren was ‘allowed to resign his post’ OXFAM has been slammed by the charities watchdog over its “flawed” handling of claims aid workers were sexually exploiting earthquake victims in Haiti.
The Charity Commission has concluded Oxfam GB’s response to the 2011 abuse and its poor record on safeguarding amounts to mismanagement.
The report follows an 18-month probe after it was revealed prostitutes visited Oxfamfunded villas in the disaster zone in 2011.
The charity’s own investigation, following allegations by a whistleblower, identified four staff who used, or were suspected of using, prostitutes on the Caribbean island. Charity ‘deeply sorry’
Evidence described some prostitutes as looking “under 18, scantily dressed”. Others were said to be in their 20s.
Shamed country director in Haiti, Roland van Hauwermeiren, admitted sex workers visited his villa twice in a year, adding: “I’m not proud about it.”
The charity allowed him to resign to give him a “dignified exit”, according to internal emails. This was in part to “manage the reputational risk”.
The report found the charity failed to adequately investigate whether girls were underage and did not report claims to local officials. While there was no evidence of a cover-up, Oxfam had failed to “fully and frankly” disclose the seriousness of the abuse.
The document revealed Oxfam received emails in July 2011 claiming aid workers were exploiting two Haitians aged 12 and 13.
Oxfam suspected the emails were not genuine, but the regulator said the charity “did not take enough steps” to establish authenticity. The charity watchdog has exercised its legal powers and issued an official warning.
It instructed Oxfam trustees to submit an action plan in an effort to “repair public confidence”. Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: “What went wrong in Haiti did not happen in isolation. Over years, Oxfam’s internal culture tolerated poor behaviour, and at times lost sight of values it stands for.”
Baroness Stowell, chair of the Charity Commission, said: “No charity is so large, nor is its mission so important, that it can afford to put its reputation ahead of the dignity of those it exists to protect.”
Caroline Thomson, Oxfam GB’s chair of trustees, said it was “deeply sorry”, saying: “It was a terrible abuse of power.”