Aid sector must fight abuse or lose funding
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt will warn representatives from the global aid sector that they must take urgent action to combat sexual abuse following revelations about the conduct of Oxfam employees in Haiti.
Speaking in Stockholm at a gathering of aid ministers and agencies from more than 20 countries, Ms Mordaunt will put charities on notice that they will lose government funding if they do not safeguard everyone their work brings them in contact with.
A new safeguarding unit at the Department for International Development is set to consider proposals for a global aid worker register to prevent known abusers from joining agencies.
“The sexual exploitation of vulnerable people, vulnerable children, is never acceptable,” Ms Mordaunt is expected to say. “But when it is perpetrated by people in positions of power, people we entrust to help and protect, it rightly sickens and disgusts. And compels us to take action.”
In a warning to aid groups, she will say: “Unless you safeguardeveryoneyourorganisation comes into contact with, including beneficiaries, staff and volunteers – we will not fund you.
“Unless you create a culture that prioritises the safety of vulnerable people and ensures victims and whistleblowers can come forward 0 Penny Mordaunt will have harsh words for the aid sector without fear – we will not work with you.
“And unless you report every serious incident or allegation, no matter how damaging to your reputation – we cannot be partners.”
Ms Mordaunt will also announce £5 million of funding for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children to help tackle physical and sexual abuse. The DFID secretary said on Tuesday that funding decisions won’t be “taken hastily”. The charity received £31.7 million from the Government in 2016/17.
Ms Mordaunt said she took the issue “very seriously” but stressed she would be guided by a Charity Commission inquiry into Oxfam while deciding on funding.
The former Conservative leader and Foreign Secretary Lord Hague warned against cutting the foreign aid budget in the wake of the scandal. He wrote in the Daily Telegraph that “a reduction in aid would be a strategic blunder, ultimately damaging our own national interest.”