Oxfam Haiti sex claims: Charity 'failed in moral leadership'

[Deleted]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43020875

Ministers could cut off funding for Oxfam if it cannot account for the way it handled claims of sexual misconduct by aid workers, the international development secretary has warned.

Penny Mordaunt will meet the charity on Monday to hear more about claims staff used prostitutes in Haiti in 2011.

She said Oxfam had failed in its "moral leadership" over the "scandal".

Meanwhile, Oxfam has announced new measures for the prevention and handling of sexual abuse cases.

Ms Mordaunt told the BBC's Andrew Marr she had written to other organisations funded by Department for International Development (DfID) urging them to report any safeguarding issues, past or present, and pledged they would all be followed up.

Oxfam has faced growing criticism for the way it handled the allegations of misconduct by its staff in Haiti, where they were working in the aftermath of the huge earthquake that devastated they country in 2010.

The charity's own investigation into the allegations led to four people being sacked and three others resigning - among them its country director, Roland van Hauwermeiren.

Ms Mordaunt said the allegations were "a complete betrayal of both the people Oxfam were there to help and also the people that sent them there to do that job".

She said Oxfam did "absolutely the wrong thing" by not reporting the detail of the allegations and that no organisation could be a government partner if it did not "have the moral leadership to do the right thing".

She said she was considering whether Oxfam should receive any more funding from the government - which gave it £32m ($44m) in the last financial year.

Oxfam's chairman of trustees, Caroline Thomson, said the reports in the Times newspaper had led to other staff coming forward with concerns about how employees were recruited and vetted.

She said the charity's board had appointed a consultant earlier this year to review its culture and working practices, which would now be extended.

"If that review brings about a safer environment for all, then the publicity of the last few days, painful as it has been, will also have been valuable," she said.

"It is not sufficient to be appalled by the behaviour of our former staff - we must and will learn from it and use it as a spur to improvement."

The charity will also introduce tougher vetting of staff and mandatory safeguarding training for new recruits and work with the rest of the aid sector to make it easier to share intelligence about people who have been found guilty of sexual misconduct.

This will be in addition to measures designed to prevent sexual abuse and misconduct and improve the handling of allegations which Oxfam says it introduced in the wake of the Haiti case in 2011.

Meanwhile, Oxfam is facing further allegations, reported in the Observer, that staff on its mission in Chad - also led by Mr van Hauwermeiren - used prostitutes in 2006.

Oxfam said it could not corroborate the latest claims.

The Sunday Times has also reported new allegations, saying more than 120 workers from UK charities were accused of sexual abuse in the past year.

Ms Mordaunt's predecessor Priti Patel said she was aware of a wider issue of sexual abuse and child exploitation from when she was at DfID.

She told Radio 5 live's Pienaar's Politics there was "a culture of denial in the aid sector about the exploitation and sexual abuse that has taken place historically for decades" and called for a database for "predatory paedophiles" who she claimed could be infiltrating the organisations.

Ms Mordaunt said she suspected there were paedophiles targeting the sector to carry out predatory activities, making it important that aid organisations reported offences.

The allegations of misconduct by Oxfam staff in Haiti date from 2011 but came to light in a report in the Times on Friday, which said the charity's country director for Haiti, Roland Van Hauwermeiren, was alleged to have used prostitutes at a villa rented for him by Oxfam in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

Oxfam knew about the allegations at the time and launched an internal investigation, as a result of which four members of staff were dismissed.

Three others, including Mr Van Hauwermeiren, were allowed to resign before the end of the investigation.

Mr Van Hauwermeiren went on to work elsewhere in the sector, but Oxfam said it would not have provided a positive reference.

The charity says it made a report public at the time which said "serious misconduct" had taken place in Haiti and issued a press release - but did not give details of the allegations.

It told the Charity Commission it was investigating inappropriate sexual behaviour, bullying, harassment and staff intimidation but did again not reveal the exact details.

The regulator took no further action at the time, but has since said it would have acted differently had it known all the facts.

Oxfam has denied any cover-up.

Its chief executive, Mark Goldring, told the BBC that describing details of the behaviour at the time could have drawn "extreme attention" to it, which he said would have been in no-one's best interest.

Pretty disgusting if the claims are to be true

[Lorgar Aurelian]

I mean I guess geting a hooker in a time of strife isn’t s great thing but it’s not like there abunch of rapist I don’t really see a problem.

[Deleted]

UN Peacekeepers would be proud.

[Deleted]

I mean I guess geting a hooker in a time of strife isn’t s great thing but it’s not like there abunch of rapist I don’t really see a problem.

Well there's also

The Sunday Times has also reported new allegations, saying more than 120 workers from UK charities were accused of sexual abuse in the past year.

Ms Mordaunt's predecessor Priti Patel said she was aware of a wider issue of sexual abuse and child exploitation from when she was at DfID.

She told Radio 5 live's Pienaar's Politics there was "a culture of denial in the aid sector about the exploitation and sexual abuse that has taken place historically for decades" and called for a database for "predatory paedophiles" who she claimed could be infiltrating the organisations.

Ms Mordaunt said she suspected there were paedophiles targeting the sector to carry out predatory activities, making it important that aid organisations reported offences.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Well there's also

Ok that is a much bigger problem something should proabbly be done.

[sarahtasher]

I mean I guess geting a hooker in a time of strife isn’t s great thing but it’s not like there abunch of rapist I don’t really see a problem.

I would not be that concerned if there was not minors involved apparently.

[Deleted]

I think the bigger scandal is that 8 years after the earthquake, after all the time And money poured into Haiti, very little seems to have actually been achieved.

Its almost like charities like Oxfam have a conflict of interest in that when they do their jobs properly they cease y
To be needed.

[Deleted]

Wonder what will happen

- - - Updated - - -

Oxfam: Deputy resigns over sex claims amid crisis talks
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43027631

[ro9ue]

Abuse = bad.

Hiring prostitutes = literally don't care.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Wait, I thought this sort of thing only went on in Evil Hollywood. OT: yeah something something about human rights and what not.

[Deleted]

Abuse = bad.

Hiring prostitutes = literally don't care.

I may be mistaken but I think prostitutes in Haiti can be under 18 and even 16

[ro9ue]

I may be mistaken but I think prostitutes in Haiti can be under 18 and even 16

Well that I would classify under the abuse column if true.

[lummiuster]

Honestly this story is less shocking than hearing that someone stole an iphone from Bestbuy.
Look at the overall results. They got millions and probably used (I think since a hooker is $20 there on average) $20000 to $50000 to get prostitutes. Prostitution is not even illegal there, so you should see it the same way as if they stole $2000-$5000 to buy things for themselves.
There were many stories of fundraising where more than half of the millions raised was stolen by the administrators (a lot of Hillary's fundraising for special cases end up in her pocket).
If you are shocked by this story it is because you are still weak minded and can be easily manipulated by medias and people using the right words. Look at the overall outcome. It is almost negligible.

[Deleted]

Honestly this story is less shocking than hearing that someone stole an iphone from Bestbuy.
Look at the overall results. They got millions and probably used (I think since a hooker is $20 there on average) $20000 to $50000 to get prostitutes. Prostitution is not even illegal there, so you should see it the same way as if they stole $2000-$5000 to buy things for themselves.
There were many stories of fundraising where more than half of the millions raised was stolen by the administrators (a lot of Hillary's fundraising for special cases end up in her pocket).
If you are shocked by this story it is because you are still weak minded and can be easily manipulated by medias and people using the right words. Look at the overall outcome. It is almost negligible.

Because volunteers are meant to be doing aid work NOT taking part in sexual exploitation. It's not acceptable

[lummiuster]

Because volunteers are meant to be doing aid work NOT taking part in sexual exploitation. It's not acceptable

wtf sexual exploitation? It is not sexual exploitation if it is legal... Then, there is no difference between buying an apple or buying a prostitute. Put this in your head.
Now start seeing the case as if the volunteers stole a bit of money to buy apples.

[sarahtasher]

One, it's juvenile prostitutes. You are correct to assume that the case would have been merely ''annoying'' if this was prostitutes.

Two, again, juvenile prostitution have a very gnarly tendancy to be a barely disguised form of sexual slavery

[Deleted]

wtf sexual exploitation? It is not sexual exploitation if it is legal... Then, there is no difference between buying an apple or buying a prostitute. Put this in your head.
Now start seeing the case as if the volunteers stole a bit of money to buy apples.

Sexual exploitation is still sexual exploitation even if it's illegal, especially in 3rd world countries

[Deleted]

wtf sexual exploitation? It is not sexual exploitation if it is legal... Then, there is no difference between buying an apple or buying a prostitute. Put this in your head.
Now start seeing the case as if the volunteers stole a bit of money to buy apples.

Prostitution is illegal in Haiti.

[Deleted]

Prostitution is illegal in Haiti.

Besides Oxfam Aid Workers are given money to help out not fuck prostitutes however this whole thing is layered upon issues upon issues

[lummiuster]

Prostitution is illegal in Haiti.

...Alright lets use the right terms. They paid escorts (not prostitutes).

FYI: it is almost the same thing. Escorts being legal in almost all countries. The difference being that you pay for their "company". The involvement of sex is not part of the agreement but quite obvious. Also any kind of solicitation in a "public area" that aims to spend private time is likely to fall into prostitution. Almost all "sexual tourists" know that.

So to respond your comment, no it is not sexual exploitation. Also I have read the articles stating they paid "prostitutes". But I doubt they used the right word since they have not been charged for it. The authorities did not charge them with anything related to that which leads me to think they found a legal alternative.