More than 120 charity workers accused of sexual abuse in the last year alone
International Development Secretary Penny Mourdant describes the revelations as 'shocking'
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 120 workers from a range of Britain’s leading charities have reportedly been accused of sexual abuse in the past year alone.
New figures collated by the charities revealed that Oxfam recorded 87 allegations of sexual misconduct between April 2016 and March 2017, of which 53 were referred to the police, Save the Children had 31, ten of which were referred to the police, and Christian Aid two.
The British Red Cross also admitted a “small number of cases of harassment reported in the UK”.
It is believed that that is up to five incidents took place in the last year, according to The Times which originally reported the story.
The new statistics come as Oxfam was forced to deny covering up the use of prostitutes by its aid workers in Haiti.
Oxfam said four members of staff were dismissed. Three, including Roland van Hauwermeiren, who served as the country director for Haiti, were allowed to resign before the end of the investigation.
A confidential report by the charity, seen by the Times, said there had been “a culture of impunity” among some staff in Haiti.
It also concluded that children may have been among those sexually exploited by aid workers.
Former staff who worked for Oxfam in Chad also alleged that women believed to be prostitutes were repeatedly invited to the Oxfam team house there, with one adding that a senior member of staff had been fired for his behaviour in 2006.
The Government has announced it is reviewing all of its work with Oxfam, which receives £300 million a year.
Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, described the news as “shocking” and has threatened to withdraw funding from Oxfam and “any other organisation that has safeguarding issues”.
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