‘We have been used by men who I know work for you’
Dismissed as fake, emails arrived in charity’s inbox as it was investigating prostitution claims in Haiti
IT WAS a damning verdict – Oxfam, one of the world’s largest charities, was yesterday found to have concealed allegations of child sex abuse to protect its reputation.
In a painstaking 150-page report, the Charity Commission detailed how a “culture of poor behaviour” allowed predatory staff to target young victims in Haiti and other disaster zones.
Even in the UK, more than a dozen under-age volunteers reported sexual abuse in high street charity shops, while convicted sex offenders were found working behind the counter.
The allegations first emerged in February 2018 but the report reveals that senior executives were warned as far back as 2010. Victims appeared to take “second place” – not seriously enough – the report found. Details of shocking allegations were withheld as bosses feared donations might dry up.
The watchdog ruled Oxfam’s failings and shortcomings amounted to mismanagement, prompting the regulator to issue it with an official warning. It now faces a police investigation.
‘Convent girls’ were ignored
Oxfam failed to act on reports that senior workers were raping Haitian convent girls as young as 12, the damning Charity Commission report found.
Messages sent directly to Dame Barbara Stocking, the charity’s former head, were swiftly dismissed as fake.
A member of staff later admitted that after a brief investigation the charity “thought no more of it, to be honest”.
The emails, sent in summer 2011, claimed to be from a 13-year-old Haitian, who wrote that she and a friend had been forced into prostitution to survive and had been “beaten and used by two men who I know work for you”.
It went on: “They also have a boss who works for you and I have not met, but my young friend, she is 12 (and) has had sex with him.” The emails arrived as the charity was already investigating allegations that senior aid workers were paying local girls for sex in the country shattered by earthquakes in January 2010. Dame Barbara replied to the sender immediately, promising the allegations would be taken seriously.
But they were not, the commission stated. Instead, senior executives concluded, following a short investigation, that the emails were probably faked.
Suspicions were shared over the “unusual use of language in the body of the email”, while other senior staff wondered why the messages had only been sent to Dame Barbara and the press team. The mystery author sent another email in August, claiming she was living in “Carrefour, the convent of St Teresa”. Again, it was dismissed.
When interviewed by the inquiry in March 2018, Dame Barbara said a member of staff had been dispatched to the convent to investigate but later added: “I’m not sure that happened now.”
No proof was found that anyone from Oxfam had ever gone to look for the girls, the report continued. The emails were not handed over to police.
Dame Barbara has continued to insist the emails were faked, telling the inquiry she was “relieved to know that we [now] have evidence backing up our understanding at the time that these emails were not genuine”.
However, the commission found that given the passage of time “it will not be possible to conclude with sufficient certainty whether minors were involved or at risk”. The emails were finally passed to police last year.
“The inquiry’s view is that Oxfam GB should not have taken the risk with the safety of minors,” the report said.
‘Dignified’ exit for Haiti boss
The disgraced head of Oxfam’s mission in Haiti was allowed a “phased and dignified” exit despite admitting he had used vulnerable prostitutes, the report found. Roland van Hauwermeiren was encouraged to resign, to “manage the reputational risk” to the charity, emails showed. When questioned in 2011, he admitted using prostitutes in his Oxfam quarters, and offered to leave.
But the report found senior executives were keen to stop the news going public. An internal memo said “there were potentially serious implications … if he were to be dismissed”.
Instead, emails showed that Mr Van Hauwermeiren requested, and was granted, a “phased and dignified exit”.
Dame Barbara told trustees that his departure was due to “his overall responsibility, not because of involvement in the activities of concern”.
Oxfam’s internal investigation, following allegations by a whistleblower in 2011, identified four staff who either did use, or were suspected of using, prostitutes, including on charity premises. Charity staff, both in Haiti and at home, carried out internet research on the legality of prostitution on the Caribbean island, and on at least two occasions professional legal advice was sought by Oxfam about prostitution.
Records showed that one whistleblower claimed to have seen staff with under-age prostitutes, describing them as “young, under 18, scantily dressed”. Another staff member was said to be using a “pimp” for prostitutes but the allegations were met with a weak response. Dame Barbara said last year the use of prostitutes was not a “breach of the code of conduct”. But the regulator said: “The lines of inquiry about the nature and extent of what happened should have been pursued further.”
Sex offenders discovered at high street charity shops
Teenage girls volunteering in Oxfam charity shops reported abuse on more than dozen occasions, the report revealed. It also discovered undisclosed sex offenders volunteering at high street shops after Oxfam failed to check their backgrounds. The charity operates 600 shops across the UK, with around 1,200 members of staff supported by 22,000 volunteers.
Analysis found 27 alleged victims under 18 reported “serious incidents” to Oxfam between 2011 and 2018. Overall, 146 incidents were reported involving 51 members of Oxfam staff. The report said “the most common allegations contained a sexual element”. In 11 cases involving potential crimes, the commission could not find evidence that Oxfam had referred them to the police.
The review found nine undisclosed sex offenders volunteering in Oxfam shops. The report stated: “Some of the practice involving these cases demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of safeguarding.”