The aid sector has been aware of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by its own personnel for years, but it has collectively reacted patchily and sluggishly; and shown more concern for charity reputations than victims. So says a report from the International Development Committee of MPs. The report arose out of the February 2018 reporting of Oxfam GB staff, including the country director, paying local young women for sex in Haiti while working on the humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake. MPs found that sexual exploitation and abuse of aid recipients by aid providers and peacekeepers ‘is by no means a new issue’.
Liverpool Labour MP Stephen Twigg, chair of the committee, said: “Six months after The Times’ expose of abuse in Haiti, the committee publishes a first look at the troubling issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in the aid sector. Many things have changed in that time with the aid sector, Charity Commission and DFID taking steps to respond to the crisis. One thing has not: the abject failure of the international aid sector to get to grips with this issue, leaving victims at the mercy of those who seek to use power to abuse others. This must be tackled.
“Victims and whistle-blowers must not end up feeling penalised for speaking out. Humanitarian organisations and the UN cannot continue a ‘culture of denial’ when confronted with allegations of SEA. The Committee is deeply concerned that previous attempts have amounted to limited action in order to quell media clamour with no lasting impact or redress. The International Development Committee will continue to give this high priority and we will be tracking progress with a view to ensuring real improvement is made. No matter how insurmountable this looks, solutions must be found. This horror must be confronted.”
As for organisational culture, the report calls for zero-tolerance on sexual exploitation and abuse, either in crisis situations or in the workplace. The MPs want to see staff screening, so that known perpetrators of sexual exploitation and abuse, identified through improved reporting and accountability, are prevented from moving into new positions. Reports of sexual exploitation and abuse should be proactively sought and responded to robustly with feedback to victims and survivors, say MPs. They ask DFID (the UK Department for International Development) and other donors to provide the resources for victim-centred reporting mechanisms.
The report noted that the globalised and often chaotic nature of aid work presents challenges to robust employment screening. “Indeed, this is likely to be a factor making relief aid, in particular, an attractive sector for people wishing to exploit others.” A global register of aid workers would act as one barrier to sexual predators seeking to enter international aid giving, the report said, and it called on the sector, led by DFID, should commit to this at an International Safeguarding Conference in October. DFID and the Charity Commission ran a similar gathering in March.
Twigg added: “For there to be real progress, we must expect a sustained focus, engagement and leadership on sexual exploitation and abuse – in DFID and beyond, in international arenas. The forthcoming International Safeguarding Conference presents an opportunity for DFID to secure commitments from across the aid sector. It is the start of a process, not a stopgap. Government must ensure that the Charity Commission is sufficiently prepared to deliver its responsibilities. There should be an independent aid ombudsman to provide a right to appeal. And we call for measures to improve the flawed mechanisms of the UN.
“We call on DFID to report annually on the safeguarding performance of the sector, including the number and distribution of cases, the resources committee and the Department’s own actions and contributions to improvement. Transparency will not be penalised but DFID must send a clear signal that improper handling of cases will be. Crucially, the voices of victims and survivors must be heard.”
For the full report visit https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmintdev/840/84002.htm.
The charity Oxfam has introduced a ten-point action plan. Caroline Thomson, Oxfam Chair of Trustees, also gave evidence to the committee. She said the report made for incredibly painful reading. “Oxfam exists to help improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people; we know we failed to protect vulnerable women in Haiti, and we accept we should have reported more clearly at the time – for that we are truly sorry. We have made improvements since 2011 but recognise we have further to go.
“The Committee is right to challenge all of us in the sector to do better – we need to give the same sustained priority to preventing and tackling sexual abuse as we do to saving lives during humanitarian emergencies. Victims and survivors must be at the heart of our approach and the report’s recommendations demand serious attention.
“Oxfam is committed to the safety and dignity of everyone who interacts with us. We are determined to strengthen women’s rights within Oxfam and in the communities in which we work. Since February, as part of our comprehensive action plan, we have tripled funding for safeguarding, established an independent whistle-blowing helpline and committed to publish details of safeguarding cases twice a year.”
At the regulator the Charity Commission, Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement welcomed the MPs’ report. She was among those giving evidence to the committee. She said: “We are clear that sexual exploitation and abuse, and any other behaviours that put beneficiaries, staff, volunteers and members of the public at risk, have absolutely no place in charity. We are pleased that the report makes a number of helpful suggestions to the sector as to how these can be stamped out. We take safeguarding extremely seriously. Our role is to hold all charities, including those working in the international aid sector, to account for the way they fulfil their duties in keeping people safe.
“But the charity sector must go further than simply box-ticking against their legal duties or improving processes and policies. We are particularly pleased to see the Committee’s focus on the responsibility of charity leaders to set an organisational culture that demonstrates zero tolerance for abuse.
“Charities should be judged not just by what they do or achieve, but how they go about it. Our research shows that the public expect charities to demonstrate the highest standards are met through everything they do. In the context of safeguarding this means creating safe and trusted environments, including for victims to come forward if abuse does occur, and being transparent with us as the regulator, and the public where appropriate, when things go wrong. It is time for charities and their leadership to fully confront these issues with a real commitment to lasting and demonstrable change.
“We are pleased that the Committee recognises our crucial role in monitoring and upholding standards on safeguarding in charities, and welcome the Committee’s recommendation that the Commission should be properly resourced to meet these challenges. We will continue to work with government to ensure we are adequately resourced to meet future challenges.”
In July in the House of Commons Stephen Twigg put forward the International Development (Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups) Bill, for checks on aid workers giving disaster relief to counties in need. The Bill will receive a second reading later in the year.
In April, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Save the Children UK’s handling, reporting and response to serious allegations of misconduct and harassment against senior staff members in 2012 and 2015. Kevin Watkins, CEO of Save the Children UK, who also gave evidence to the committee, said: “The International Safeguarding Conference this autumn, which has been convened by the Department for International Development, represents a critical opportunity for the aid sector to get to grips with these problems and adopt practical solutions to stamp out the abuse of vulnerable children and young women.
“We have made mistakes in our own handling of historical sexual harassment complaints from staff in the UK. Although some progress has been made in creating a more respectful working culture, there is a great deal more to do. That’s why we have commissioned an independent internal review of our organisational culture which we have committed to making public.”
That charity said it was having a dialogue with international policing body Interpol aimed at setting up a global mechanism for conducting background checks using the data resources of national crime agencies.
At Bond, a UK network for those working in international development, Judith Brodie, interim CEO, said: “The increased public attention on safeguarding has resulted in more people coming forwards to report allegations and incidents. This is a sign that the culture around safeguarding is shifting towards better reporting, screening and accountability, where beneficiaries and staff have the knowledge and confidence to raise concerns in a safe and supportive environment. We can only deliver zero tolerance of sexual exploitation and abuse with strong leadership and culture change in our organisations and as a sector we are committed to delivering this change. We as NGOs know that ‘business as usual’ is not going to cut it and change has started and is under way.”
