* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
We must stop reoffending aid workers moving through organisations with impunity
Sarah Champion is a British lawmaker and chair of parliament’s International Development Committee
It has been three years since the horror of aid workers exploiting vulnerable aid beneficiaries in Haiti came to light. Each time such a scandal is uncovered, we hear that lessons have been learned and policies have been changed.
Today, Britain’s parliamentary International Development Committee (IDC), that I chair, published a report showing that sexual exploitation and abuse is still happening in the aid sector, and efforts to contain it are failing.
IDC undertook a unique survey seeking the views from those with experience of the aid sector. Shockingly, 73% of respondents said there remains a widespread problem of aid workers perpetrating sexual exploitation and abuse against recipients.
Witnesses told us how widespread the problem is and our inquiry sought views on possible solutions.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation and The New Humanitarian gave evidence following their investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by aid workers in the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2018.
We heard how the team spoke to 51 women who shared harrowing accounts of exploitation from organisations including UNICEF, World Vision and others. The abuse was such an open secret that it even took place in “WHO’s operational headquarters”, with victims ferried around by WHO drivers.
The Charity Commission told us that they were aware of eight serious incidents in the DRC and have further concerns about sexual exploitation and abuse in Myanmar. Alina Potts from the Global Women’s Institute described widespread sexual abuse in refugee camps in Lebanon and Uganda.
It is clear that there remains a colossal task in getting justice for the victims and survivors abused by aid workers, let alone preventing it in the first place.
In our report, we have set out how this can be tackled. We must remove the onus that has been placed on victims to come forward – too often they are unaware of their rights and why would anyone make a complaint to the very organisation that has abused them?
The solution is clear; any effort to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse must be designed with the beneficiaries and including local women’s groups is crucial. If this does not happen, the ‘us and them’ narrative that has been prevalent in the aid sector for too long will just continue.
Abuse happens when there is a power imbalance; we must address this.
Only when beneficiaries are involved in the design and delivery of both aid programmes and complaints mechanisms, will they be empowered. Current failure to bring them into the conversation, and to trust their opinions, is allowing sexual abuse to flourish.
Many aid organisations have taken steps to make improvements. Aid organisations have recruited champions leading new work to tackle abuse and there is more training available for aid workers on reporting it.
However, IDC’s survey identified that 57% of respondents, who had tested the whistleblowing policies within their organisations, felt they were inadequate. So, if someone suspects sexual abuse, in the absence of proper reporting mechanisms, how can we be confident that staff will not face retaliation if they expose it? We heard troubling accounts of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) being used to silence whistleblowers to protect the reputation of their organisations.
To ensure the systems and procedures in place work, aid organisations that receive government funding must be transparent and report allegations to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Failure for aid organisations to act on allegations should come at the cost of funding. Programmes designed in partnership with the Government must include funding to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse.
I am a huge supporter of aid helping the most vulnerable in the world, and on the whole, aid workers do a fantastic job in often very challenging circumstances.
But there remains a rotten few that move from organisation to organisation with impunity – the Government’s Employment Cycle Schemes can help identify and remove these monsters from reoffending, but that can only happen when perpetrators are identified – and that is on the shoulders of the aid sector.
