Charity was warned about team leader who is now accused of raping volunteer
A British charity under fire for misconduct overseas is facing fresh allegations that a volunteer was raped by a team leader who had already been flagged as a risk to women.
The Independent revealed in September that Restless Development, which receives millions in government funding to run youth-led aid projects abroad, had been accused of putting volunteers’ lives in danger, as
well as a catalogue of other issues.
Now it is alleged the charity failed to act on complaints made against a team leader who went on to allegedly rape a young female volunteer.
Restless Development, was told the man assaulted another female volunteer after drinking heavily while on placement in South Africa during summer 2017.
His victim was left with severe bruising to her chest but claims she was warned by the charity not to take her allegation further. Restless Development, which has received £6m in government funding over the last three years, told The Independent there was “insufficient evidence” to act.
The team leader allegedly went on to rape a volunteer to whom he owed a duty of care. After being reported to the charity in early September, he was investigated.
However, Restless Development did not suspend him during this period. Instead, he was relocated within the charity and allowed to continue working alongside young women before being dismissed on 27 September.
During the same placement, in which volunteers taught schoolchildren about sexual health and domestic violence, a different male volunteer was reportedly witnessed sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl. By the time the allegation surfaced, the individual had also been reported for groping a volunteer’s breast. He was eventually dismissed by the charity.
The alleged child molestation was not reported to the Department for International Development (DfID), despite it overseeing the International Citizen Service (ICS) placement from which these allegations have arisen. The ICS is a government-funded programme which, in partnership with a number of international charities, including Restless Development, provides overseas development work for young people. One team leader from the 2017 South Africa placement told The Independent: “It felt that the country director downwards were only interested in looking after themselves. They conducted their own investigation into allegations of child molestation. To this day I still question the legitimacy of this investigation, the outcome and more importantly if the victim received the correct support. It seems to me they were covering their own backs.”
In a separate incident, The Independent understands a Restless Development volunteer drowned during a training placement in South Africa earlier this year.
MPs on the Commons’ International Development Select Committee said they were “concerned about The Independent’s findings” and stressed they would be asking DfID for “updates on the progress of their investigations” into sexual exploitation and abuse by charity aid workers.
DfID said all ICS projects in South Africa, including those run by Restless Development and other partnered charities, were cut earlier this year as part of a wider reshaping of the programme, and allegations of child sexual assault on all ICS placements would now be immediately reported.
The allegations of rape and child abuse come despite assurances made by Restless Development to The Independent that safeguarding protocols had been reviewed with a plan in place to combat misconduct and mismanagement.
Following The Independent’s investigation, the Charity Commission said it will be “arranging a visit to the charity to discuss” the reporting of overseas incidents and “to ensure that safeguarding is being prioritised appropriately by the trustees”.
Restless Development has since told The Independent it has “reopened investigations into these incidents and met volunteers from our South Africa cycles to offer further support and to try to address the issues they have raised”.
The charity added: “The safety of our volunteers and people we work with is our first priority and we have a zero-tolerance approach to sexual assault and issues related to safeguarding.
In response to the incidents that occurred on our ICS programme in South Africa in 2017, we carried out thorough investigations which were guided by our rigorous safeguarding policies, a survivor-centred approach, our safety and security protocols, and consultation with the police. We are determined to continue learning and will not stop until we have taken all the necessary steps we can to prevent problems and address them as and when they arise.”
In response to allegations about the child molestation claim, a spokesperson for the charity said: “We took this allegation extremely seriously and as soon as the alleged incident was reported to us we launched a formal investigation, which included informing the South African police and interviewing the child’s family.
“The child’s family were provided with independent legal advice to support them, however they did not wish to bring any claim and the police therefore were unable to proceed with any investigation.”
A DfID spokesperson said: “DfID has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment. We require all our partners to have robust systems in place to prevent such unacceptable behaviour from taking place and to respond appropriately if it does occur.”