Oxfam GB put protecting its reputation above the need to protect children who were allegedly sexually abused by its workers, a damning report from the charity commission says.
The commission’s inquiry found the charity did not report allegations of sexual abuse by Oxfam staff in Haiti in 2011, failing to take alleged victims seriously enough.
The 150-page report said Oxfam also failed to properly follow-up reports that sexual misconduct victims in Haiti were girls as young as 12, despite the charity undertaking its own investigation into sexual abuse allegations in 2011.
This investigation comes after it emerged last year that Oxfam staff members, who were deployed in Haiti to provide aid, paid earthquake survivors for sex.
It also follows an independent review into sexual misconduct in the Australian aid sector, which found 76 alleged incidents of sexual misconduct by aid workers over a three year period, with children among the victims.
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