Oxfam sexual exploitation scandal is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’, MPS warn
Abuse is endemic in aid sector but charities are more concerned about reputation, says report
Chief Political Correspondent
SEXUAL exploitation is endemic in the aid sector and the Oxfam scandal is just the “tip of the iceberg”.
A damning report from MPS on the International Development select committee says charities failed to take action as they were more concerned for their reputation than for victims.
And the MPS say that cases made public are “only the tip of the iceberg” and that “individuals known to be predatory and potentially dangerous” were able to move around the aid sector undetected.
Charities were left reeling after it emerged that Oxfam workers who had been sent to help victims of an earthquake in Haiti in 2011 paid prostitutes for sex. The committee found the aid sector knew about sexual exploitation among its workers for years but neither confronted nor addressed the problem.
The 120-page report noted “the reactive, patchy and sluggish response of the sector created an impression of complacency verging on complicity and more concern for reputations than victims”.
Stephen Twigg, the committee’s Labour chairman, was fiercely critical of the response from aid agencies. “Humanitarian organisations and the UN cannot continue a culture of denial,” he said. “No matter how insurmountable this looks, solutions must be found. This horror must be confronted.”
The report stated that beneficiaries of humanitarian aid should seek out any issues and respond robustly, putting “transparency over reputation”.
The MPS also wanted a register of aid workers put in place by October, which would act as a “barrier to stop sexual predators seeking to enter the international aid profession”. Pauline Latham, a Tory member of the committee, demanded “deep cultural change” among all aid organisations, “starting with their all-too often male senior leadership.” She added: “Sexual abuse must be stamped out.”
Penny Mordaunt, the International Development secretary, said: “Ensuring survivors’ voices are heard and taken seriously is paramount. As we look to October’s international summit on this issue we expect to see the sector demonstrate the progress they have made to put victims, survivors and the people we are there to help first.”
Caroline Thomson, Oxfam trustees’ chairman, said the report was “painful reading for me, everyone at Oxfam and the aid sector as a whole. We know we failed to protect vulnerable women in Haiti, and we accept we should have reported more clearly at the time – for that we are truly sorry.
“Victims and survivors must be at the heart of our approach and the report’s recommendations demand serious attention.”