The Scotsman

Tories are using sex scandal to attack Oxfam because it exposes inequality

- Kenny Macaskill

The Oxfam scandal is sad in so many ways, particular­ly, for the volunteers, staff and the organisati­on itself. Even more so, for vulnerable people in desperate circumstan­ces who’ve been abused by those employed to help them.

But, it’s a few individual­s who’ve besmirched the good name of not just the individual charity, but the wider overseas aid sector. Likewise, the handling of the affair appears to have been inept from an organisati­on that should know better and has resources to perform more ably.

However, there’s an over-reaction to both the individual and procedural failings and some false outrage from some, especially the UK Government. It smacks of payback for a charity that has exposed inequality at home and campaigned for more to be done to address poverty abroad. After all, it’s this Tory government that has fuelled the former and been failing on the latter. Oxfam wasn’t afraid to speak out about the extent of poverty in this country or in demanding greater action in other lands.

Action is being taken by the charity with the deputy chief executive already having fallen on her sword and perhaps others following, as it’s arguable it’s the corporate failures that are the most glaring. However, the outrage of the UK Government is in sharp contrast to its views, never mind actions, on corporate failings whether in banks or service companies. RBS, Carrillion and a host of others seem impervious to UK Government action, let alone castigatio­n. Sexual abuse is wrong and failing to properly tackle it, equally so. But, so is deliberate­ly putting companies under and filching people’s pensions. The silence from the Government on those issues, never mind other corporate crime, is deafening.

Moreover, the faux upset about the harm to those suffering is altogether rather nauseating when it’s considered what’s happening in Yemen. That’s the calamity of our time and yet the Tory government is complicit in arming the Saudis, who are responsibl­e for so much of it. Never mind the former Developmen­t Minister who wanted to divert limited funds to the Israeli Defence Forces. So, for me, it’s not just an over-reaction to the scandal but false outrage that’s being vented. Of course, none of that excuses the behaviour of the individual­s or the corporate failings of the charity. The highest standards are expected from both in dealing with poor and vulnerable people, and in the overseeing and protection of employees. But, it has to be put in context. The numbers are few and the lapses limited, and this within an organisati­on that employs hundreds of people and helps millions more. Dismissals there should be and change there must be, but Oxfam remains a remarkable organisati­on and the work it does essential.

Shameful it is but prevalent it is not. It’s individual­s that have done it, it’s not institutio­nalised abuse by the charity or even the sector. People fall from grace in every walk of life, whether politician­s or aid workers. Of course, in some sectors greater care is needed and this will be a wake-up call to potential dangers and pitfalls for aid charities.

The saddest aspect is the effect this has on the morale of those who work in overseas aid and in the reputation­al damage it’s causing to the organisati­on and the sector.

My experience, knowing many in that line of work, is that they’re remarkably committed people. They would never dream of abusing or exploiting those they dedicate their life to serving. And serve they do for it’s not a king’s ransom that they’re paid and the work often puts them at personal risk of injury and illness, and sometimes even in danger of losing their life. For many it’s more akin to a calling than a career. They’ll be mortified by this but they’ll press on regardless and from my knowledge with ever greater effort and diligence as a consequenc­e. It’s personal and procedural failings that have been the problem here and the responsibl­e organisati­ons need to address how they select those who serve, and how they monitor those in the field. It can and will be done, that’s for certain.

This appalling scandal is very much at odds with ethos of these organisati­ons – and Oxfam is one of the largest and most profession­al. It’s surprising that there seemed to be some dubiety as to whether the individual­s should have been sacked. Of course they should have been and that was a key failing.

Loyalty to staff is normally laudable but in circumstan­ces such as this it’s both morally wrong and harmful to the collective good. This won’t be the only sector in which this has and does occur. I’ve no doubt there have been issues similar to this, whether in the military, diplomatic corps or the private sector, in whatever capacity they found themselves. None of them is being hung out to dry, and berated so strenuousl­y. Yet issues over the years of exploitati­on and abuse of local people will have occurred in each of those sectors without the moral outrage being perpetrate­d by Tory Ministers.

Calls for respect of the dignity of individual­s and the rights of distressed nations ring hollow from this Government with a Foreign Secretary who has made some appalling statements about the Third World and that collective­ly has more often been shameful in its actions. So, for sure, there’s action that Oxfam still needs to take and lessons that other aid agencies need to learn. But, there’s neither a crisis in developmen­t organisati­ons nor any reason to stop funding them. Support needs to be maintained by government and many, including myself, would argue that even more should be given. Likewise support by the general public through volunteeri­ng and donations can and should continue.

The Haitian government is entitled to be angry, as it’s their people who were exploited. But, the false outrage of the UK Government masks an attack on an organisati­on which exposes its failings and, in any event, possesses a superficia­l commitment to the fairer world for which the charity campaigns.

 ?? PICTURE: GETTY ?? 0 Oxfam went to Haiti to help earthquake survivors but some aid workers paid vulnerable people for sex
PICTURE: GETTY 0 Oxfam went to Haiti to help earthquake survivors but some aid workers paid vulnerable people for sex
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