Oxfam ’s Sexual Abuse Episode Must Inspire a Culture Shift

A UN peacekeeper holds a child as her mother is helped down from a relocation truck in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Credit: UN Photo/Logan AbassiBy Siddharth ChatterjeeNAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 16 2018 (IPS)Sexual abuse allegations against Oxfam staff, and failings in the charity’s response to them, delivered a body blow to an organisation renowned for years of humanitarian and development work. At the very least the accusations will leave a stain on the reputation of a charity that works in some of the toughest environments in the world, and has made a positive difference in the lives of the most vulnerable. The Oxfam reports come in the wake of a wave of revelations of sexual misconduct that spans churches to faith based organizations to children being abused in orphanages and schools in some of the most developed countries in the world.What started as a Weinstein story in Hollywood, has spread to become an almost-daily parade of politicians, CEOs and celebrities facing allegations, sexual and gender-based exploitation, harassment and violence is a global issue. It is a crisis on an epic scale.Under the hashtag #MeToo, thousands of women who had long bottled-up their pain have come forward with their stories, lifting the lid on decades of simmering frustration and repression.But there is nothing new about the sexual abuse and exploitation of women.The Oxfam scandal is an unfortunate blight. Organisations in similar circumstances must be transparent about how they punish culprits and ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Featured Gender Gender Violence Global Headlines Health Human Rights TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news