Penny Mordaunt warns charities could have funding cut over 'safeguarding issues'
2 min read
Aid charities will have their funding from the Government withdrawn if they fail to comply with safeguarding issues, the International Development Secretary has warned.
Penny Mordaunt hit out at Oxfam officials who had used prostitutes while working in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, dubbing their behaviour “despicable”.
Ms Mordaunt said she had written to all UK charities that receive aid from the Government and asked them to explain the measures they took to implement safeguarding measures.
"With regard to Oxfam and any other organisation that has safeguarding issues, we expect them to cooperate fully with such authorities, and we will cease to fund any organisation that does not," she said.
"I am very clear: we will not work with any organisation that does not live up to the high standards on safeguarding and protection that we require."
Ms Mordaunt’s announcement comes as the Observer reports that Oxfam workers allegedly used prostitutes in Chad in 2006.
Roland van Hauwermeiren, who has been at the centre of Haiti sex scandal, was running Oxfam’s Chad operation at the time.
One former Chad aid worker said: “They would invite the women for parties, we knew they weren’t just friends but something else.
“I have so much respect for Oxfam, they do great work, but this is a sector-wide problem.”
Ms Mordaunt said it was her “absolute priority” to keep the world’s most vulnerable people safe from harm.
"In the 21st century, it is utterly despicable that sexual exploitation and abuse continues to exist in the aid sector," she sad.
"The horrific behaviour by some members of Oxfam staff in Haiti in 2011 is an example of a wider issue on which DfID (Department for International Development) is already taking action, both at home and with the international community via the UN."
Oxfam said it had no report of the Chad allegations, but had introduced steps to prevent sexual exploitation of the vulnerable people they deal with after the Haiti revelations.
"Since the Haiti case in 2011 we have introduced a range of measures to prevent sexual abuse and misconduct happening in the first place and improve how we handle any allegations," the charity said.
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