Oxfam sexual abuse scandal ‘down to men being in charge’

 The Oxfam abuse scandal was permitted because men were in charge, a whistleblower has said.

Helen Evans, former head of safeguarding at Oxfam GB, resigned in 2015 over the organisation’s inaction over abuse allegations in charity shops.

She told MPS on the international development committee: “When I was investigating abuse, there was a very strong correlation between the tone set by the country director and then what everyone else thinks is permissible.”

She said the “majority of abusers are men”, so in countries where “the majority of people in leadership positions are men” and management teams are staffed by men, “there was definitely a correlation there in terms of the prevalence of abuse”.

She added: “I think gender balance in terms of the aid sector is an absolutely critical component of getting on top of this.”