Name and shame the charities involved in sex abuse cases, MP tells commission

THE charity regulator should name and shame the 26 foreign aid charities that have reported allegations of sexual abuse and harassment – some involving children – in the past three weeks.

The Charity Commission, the regulator, said it would not publish the charities’ names unless there was a full inquiry but did say the charities could publish the information themselves.

It comes in the wake of the Oxfam scandal in which workers sent to help victims of the Haiti earthquake in 2011 hired prostitutes during their stay. Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, said of 179 aid charities asked to notify authorities of “safeguarding breaches”, 26 – one in seven – reported 80 incidents of “actual abuse, including sexual abuse of staff, volunteers and beneficiaries, including children”.

Pauline Latham, a Tory MP, said the charities should be named as it was unfair to those not involved. But Sarah Atkinson, Charity Commission head of policy, said it would be counter-productive for those who did the right thing in making disclosures.