Oxfam Great Britain: Written Evidence to International Development Select Committee on Sexual exploitation in the aid sector

 

  1. Oxfam welcomes the chance to give evidence to the Development Select Committee, not least the chance to talk about lessons learned and the way forward, as Oxfam GB, the Oxfam confederation, and as a sector. However, we also recognise the importance of focusing on the incidents of 2011, the actions the organisation took, and the lessons learned at the time. For this reason, we have supplied the Committee with the Haiti incident report from 2011 as part of our written submission and have provided a detailed timeline of the incident and the reforms.

 

Oxfam Great Britain and Oxfam International

  1. Oxfam GB was founded in 1942. Over the following decades it inspired organisations with a similar mission and values across the world. Many also called themselves Oxfam. In recent years we have encouraged and assisted new independent Oxfams in countries of the South, such as India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. There are now 20 full members that meet regularly and seek to collaborate. The body that coordinates this collaboration is Oxfam International, now headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

  1. Until recently the Oxfam confederation was a loose knit body within which each Oxfam managed its own resources and programmes. The incidents and behaviour that have caused the Select Committee to call Oxfam to this session happened within programmes managed by Oxfam Great Britain, led by Barbara Stocking at the time, and Mark Goldring since 2013.  The Chair of Trustees at the time was John Gaventa (Karen Brown was Chair designate and took over as Chair in October 2011) and Caroline Thomson started as Chair in October 2017.
     
  2. In 2016 the Oxfam members made a decision to move closer together and bring all Programme management under a single management structure, within Oxfam International, led since 2013 by Ms Winnie Byanyima, as Executive Director. This transition started in 2017 and is now well advanced. Most countries are now under the line management of Oxfam International. The full transition in Haiti is due to complete imminently.

 

  1. Oxfam GB and the other national Oxfams continue to provide resources and technical support to country programmes and remain accountable within their own countries. Oxfam GB still generates nearly half of total Oxfam financial resources.

 

  1. In the last five years Oxfam GB has helped 11m people in over 50 countries each year. In total, in the past four years, Oxfam International has helped over 19m people each year in over 90 countries. Oxfam International as a whole has more than 10,000 staff and nearly 50,000 interns and volunteers working around the world.

 

Oxfam in Haiti

  1. Oxfam has been working in Haiti since 1978.
  2. On 12thJanuary 2010 the strongest earthquake in 200 years struck Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. Before the earthquake, only 30 percent of the population of Port-au-Prince had regular access to clean water, and just over 50 percent had access to sanitation. This situation was made worse by the earthquake which caused widespread infrastructural damage to the city’s already limited sewerage and water systems, exposing people to even greater risk of contamination and disease such as cholera.

 

  1. The quake killed more than 220,000 people, injured over 300,000 people and left more than 1.5m people homeless.

 

  1. The earthquake was followed the same year by a cholera outbreak and then by Hurricane Thomas, making already severe conditions even worse. By June 2010, the numbers of displaced people in camps had fallen to 1.3million. By the end of 2011 some 520,000 people were still in 758 temporary camps and hundreds of thousands without access to the most basic services.

 

  1. Oxfam was one of the first agencies to respond. Despite personal losses, including two Oxfam employees, a day after the quake most Oxfam staff were back in the office and they managed to salvage some of the stock from the destroyed warehouse. Oxfam Country Director at the time, Yolette Etienne, told her staff there was “no other option but to work and to work harder since we have the privilege of still being here and we can help people to overcome their desperation.”

 

  1. Despite the immensity of the crisis and broken communication channels, Oxfam’s 100 strong team, including 15 emergency specialists, was on hand to respond with provision of clean water, shelter and basic sanitation, as well as by helping community canteens provide daily hot meals. By providing paid employment to the people in the camps; to keep the camps clean, build latrines and clear up their destroyed neighborhoods, we put money in the pockets of those who needed it most and helped them improve their living conditions.  Oxfam reached 300,000 people with aid in the first three months.  

 

  1. Vanessa Guillaume, earthquake survivor who was employed by Oxfam to promote public health in the aftermath said: “Imagine your house being totally ruined after a natural disaster. In less than a minute, you lost what you’ve been fighting for years to keep. The little things you possessed, the little money or business you had, even your loved ones. But as you look around, you realize you’re not the only victim, because hundreds of people surrounding you are in the same situation. The earthquake may have caused a lot of wreckage, but it also gave people like me a chance to help repair our country and build a better future.” She added: “The earthquake left a lot of people unemployed, but it however gave us the drive to rebuild, not only our country, but also ourselves. It gave all of us an opportunity to make a huge difference in our surroundings. I wanted to be a part of that difference. And Oxfam has given me that chance.”

 

  1. We scaled up rapidly. Our August 2010 Audit report states there was a team of 550 in Haiti.

In 2010 Oxfam reached 1.2 million people in Haiti in the following areas of work:

Earthquake response program: 500,000 people

Cholera prevention program: 700,000 people

Total: 1,200,000

 

In 2011, Oxfam reached 532,000 beneficiaries in the following areas of work:

Water, sanitation, and public health promotion: 518,000 people

Emergency food and livelihoods: 5,000 people

Governance and protection: 9,000 people

Total: 532,000

 

  1. Oxfam raised $98 million for its three-year earthquake response program. A further $8 million income was raised in 2011, bringing total income raised to $106 million. As of December 2014, Oxfam had spent $101.3 million on emergency relief and long-term development.

 

 

2011 incident timeline

  1. It was in the midst of this work that the following took place:

12 July 2011 – Allegations were reported to Oxfam GB Loss Prevention Team by a senior member of staff that some expat staff based in Port Au Prince, Haiti were regularly using prostitutes in Oxfam GB accommodation. There were also allegations of sexual harassment of staff, fraud, negligence and nepotism.  It was agreed by the Regional and International Director that an investigation would be carried out.

Prior to the departure of the team to Haiti to investigate these allegations, further allegations were received from another senior regional staff member that the Country Director (CD) had used prostitutes in his Oxfam funded residence.  It was decided to investigate the CD prior to the other allegations.

The CD admitted to using prostitutes at the Oxfam accommodation and when he was made aware of the wider allegations, ‘he took full responsibility and offered to resign’.   His resignation was accepted and it was decided ‘to allow a phased and dignified exit’ provided that he would fully co-operate with the rest of the investigation.  The CD left Oxfam a month later on 24 August.

5 Aug:  A media statement was released announcing the internal investigation and suspension of staff in Haiti pending the outcome of the investigation, which was expected to be completed by September.

5 Aug: A letter was sent to DFID to inform them as a donor of an investigation team being sent to Haiti to look into allegations of alleged misconduct.

Over the next few weeks the investigation took place with 40 witnesses interviewed.

17 Aug: At least three of the disciplinary hearings took place resulting in the dismissal of the three staff.

18 Aug: A letter sent to DFID informing them the investigation was soon to be completed, that the Country Director had resigned, and that the misconduct did not relate to fraud, and did not impact upon the funds we received for the work in Haiti.

19 Aug: Disciplinary hearing for staff member accused of violence against contractors and bringing Oxfam GB into disrepute. One month was added to his probation period.

25 Aug:  Appeal hearing was heard and rejected for the staff member dismissed for bullying and intimidation of staff and downloading porn.

25 Aug: The Oxfam GB legal team reported to the Charity Commission that nine members of staff had been ‘subject to disciplinary procedures’ and that some of these staff had been dismissed for gross misconduct which relate to “inappropriate sexual behaviour, bullying, harassment and intimidation of employees. I am pleased to report that there have been no allegations, or evidence, of any abuse of beneficiaries or any instances of fraud or financial malpractice.”

29 Aug: Charity Commission respond to say “as Oxfam has taken appropriate action following the incident we have no regulatory concerns”.

5 Sept: A press release was sent out stating that six members of Oxfam GB staff ‘had been involved in a number of instances of misconduct’.  The charges included ‘Breach of OGB’s behavioural code of conduct; bringing Oxfam’s name into disrepute; abuse of power and bullying within Oxfam.’  Disciplinary action had been taken and all six had left Oxfam. Legal advice at the time advised not to detail the specifics of the misconduct.

5 Sept: A letter is sent to DFID informing them that the investigation is over, that 6 staff had been found to have breached Oxfam’s code of conduct. The letter states “These breaches of the code of conduct included bringing Oxfam’s name into disrepute, abuse of power and bullying within Oxfam. Although serious in nature, none of these instances of misconduct include beneficiaries or the misuse of any funds intended for post-earthquake reconstruction efforts in Haiti

  1. Allegations and actions taken

Ten people were investigated including the Country Director – nine were the subject of disciplinary procedures.

Six were found guilty of gross misconduct – four were dismissed and two left before the end of the investigation.

Gross misconduct included:             

use of prostitutes on Oxfam premises – all six were accused and all allegations appear to have been corroborated but the final report lists one dismissed and two resigned during investigation for this

failing in duty to protect staff – one dismissed, the HR manager

bullying and intimidation of staff – two dismissed and one resigned

downloading porn and illegal material (pirate movies) – one dismissed

CV fraud – one dismissed

Three others were investigated on other charges:

nepotism & conflict of interest – no significant evidence to confirm - cleared

breach of trust by leaking of confidential investigation report – admitted – final written warning

violence against contractors and behaviour bringing OGB into disrepute – disciplinary hearing, one month extension to probation.

 

 


Safeguarding at Oxfam

  1. Today Oxfam GB employs a team of four safeguarding specialists (with a further two posts under recruitment) who coordinate, support, and advise Oxfam GB’s staff on safeguarding issues and policy related to sexual exploitation and abuse. They are line managed through Oxfam GB’s Internal Audit and risk management function but it is for the wider management to own and manage risk. 

 

  1. This core safeguarding team are supported by a global network of 71 safeguarding focal points across the whole organisation – individuals in each country team and at regional level who are trained and supported to hear and engage with employee concerns on Protection from Sexual Exploitation & Abuse (PSEA) issues.  They work hard to support Safeguarding initiatives, training and awareness, as well as affected individuals across the world. The work is also supported by wider HR teams.

 

  1. PSEA Governance: Oxfam's Safeguarding work is also monitored and supported by a dedicated governance oversight structure called the Safeguarding Steering Group–this includes the Deputy Director of Trading, the Head of Internal Audit, the International Programmes Director, Head of People Team, and the Head of Employee Relations.

 

  1. PSEA is also afforded additional governance supported through the Internal Audit Department which sits partially outside of the corporate management structure, and can report directly to the Trustee Governing Board of Oxfam. The Safeguarding Team provides quarterly reports of trends and anonymised statistics to Oxfam GB’s Leadership Team for scrutiny by the Trustee Audit Finance Group, part of whose remit is to review risks to the organisation and its staff. In addition, Leadership Team receive headlines every month of serious incidents. The serious incident report is circulated with the monthly management accounts and brought to the next LT meeting as an info paper. 

Timeline of reforms and investments in safeguarding in Oxfam GB

  1. Oxfam has made improvements in its safeguarding policies and practices since 2011

2007 – Oxfam Annual Accountability Report starts including data about allegations of sexual abuse or exploitation perpetrated by our staff or partners.

Jan 2008 - OGB Protection from Sexual Exploitation & Abuse (PSEA) Policy created

March 2011 – Global Safeguarding Coordinator recruited, the first dedicated resource though prior to 2011 two people in HR were trained in PSEA and two people in humanitarian had PSEA responsibility.

[AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 HAITI INVESTIGATION]

September 2011 - Set up of confidential “whistleblowing” hotline in five languages which is actively promoted in country programmes.

Oct 2012 - Safeguarding Steering Group created (chaired by the HR Director. Regular attendees included Deputy International Director, Head of Audit Counter Fraud & Loss Prevention, Head of People, Global Safeguarding Coordinator).

From the end of 2012 Regional Focal Points appointed to provide more routes to report abuses.

Jul/Aug 2013 - Established “focal points” on a country by country basis who lead on safeguarding in country programmes. Our “focal points” are existing staff members who receive support from our central safeguarding team, who help Oxfam in promoting awareness of Oxfam’s safeguarding policies in country and are given training and support to receive disclosures from colleagues and others should they not want to go through line management.  As of Jan 2018, there are 71 focal points. 

Feb 2015 – Oxfam GB set up the cross-affiliate safeguarding knowledge sharing group, though operates more informally as a network.

Jul 2015 – A member of Leadership Team (LT), the Deputy CEO, joins the Safeguarding Steering group to raise its profile with LT and to affirm that the authority of the group derived from the LT. Council decide to appoint lead trustee for Safeguarding.

Oct 2015 - Lead Trustee role for safeguarding identified.

Dec 2015 - Safeguarding Team grows to 3 people (2.5 FTE) with appointment of Trading Safeguarding Advisor.

18th Jan 2016 - Safeguarding Team grows to 4 people (3.5 FTE) with appointment of Safeguarding Advisor.

July 2016 – People risk report presented to LT, this new standard annual reporting brings together risk management & appetite, Health & Safety, Safeguarding & Security. It comes to LT and the Trustee Audit and Finance Group annually.

Oct 2017 - Staff code of conduct standardised across OI as part of the transition process. Includes clause ‘I will also not exchange money, offers of employment, employment, good or services for sex or sexual favours, nor any other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behaviour, understanding that these standards exist to challenge sexually exploitative and abusive behaviour.’

December 2017 – Final decision upheld that staff in safeguarding unit agreed to be increased to 6. Adverts are now live (as of February 2018).

 

 

 

Oxfam’s reforms (from November 2017 onwards) and commitments to guarantee zero-tolerance of sexual exploitation and abuse

 

Transparency and restitution:

  1. Oxfam GB’s CEO Mark Goldring has met with the Ambassador of Haiti and has accepted an invitation to visit Haiti with the Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima and to make a public apology and to explore how to listen and make amends.

 

  1. We have made public a copy of our 2011 Haiti Incident Report. We have redacted names and identifying characteristics to comply with the need for due process and confidentiality required by both privacy law and recommended UN guidelines on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse.

 

  1. Oxfam has provided the full un-redacted copy of the incident report to the Haitian Ambassador, and will do so with the Haitian President on the 19th February.  Oxfam provided the Embassies and High Commissions of the home countries of the men who were found to have been involved in the scandal with the names of the men involved.  None were UK nationals.  A minimally redacted copy of the incident report has been shared with the Charity Commission and DFID.

 

  1. Over the next three months Oxfam GB will share their list about all current safeguarding cases with DfID on a monthly basis, in addition to ensuring Oxfam GB responds to all formal reporting requirements.

 

  1. We recommit to report to the appropriate authorities in full, any issues that arise that could affect the safety of those we work for or the confidence of the public

 

Scrutiny and leadership

  1. Oxfam GB has immediately established a Council taskgroup, chaired by Oxfam GB’s Chair of Trustee Caroline Thomson. It will be responsible for ensuring this reform plan is met and that reports are made properly to DFID and the Charity Commission as agreed and/or upon request.

 

  1. In Oxfam GB, consultancy firm Ineqe Group will work with Oxfam GB to strengthen external scrutiny. This will add external capacity to investigate cases, to provide strategic external oversight of the safeguarding function and to carry out an external review of our case handling to date. Their work will also contribute to the Charity Commission Inquiry, and they will have a direct line of contact to the Charity Commission.

 

  1. Together, Oxfam International has committed to appointing an Independent High-Level Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture Change. The High-Level Commission will operate at arms-length from Oxfam and be comprised of senior women leaders from across the world. The Commission’s scope of enquiry will be determined by the Independent Chair in consultation with the Board of Oxfam International, and will have full powers to look at past and present cases, policies, practices and culture. The Commission will listen to criticisms, complaints and allegations, in particularly in relation to abuse of power, and sexual misconduct. It will endeavour to create a comprehensive historical record, which will be made publicly available. Oxfam will be guided by whatever recommendations the Commission makes.

 

  1. Re-examining past cases, and encouraging other witnesses or survivors to come forward: If cases were not handled properly, then insofar as is possible, we will take forceful action now in line with Oxfam’s values. This may lead to some current staff facing disciplinary action and possibly losing their jobs.

 

  1. Oxfam GB had already committed to a governance review of our trustee oversight of safeguarding which is due to report in March 2018. In addition, revised PSEA, Child Protection policies and implementation plan will be presented to Oxfam GB Council for approval in March 2018 along with a refreshed safeguarding strategy. Policies will “include requirements for trustees, staff and volunteers to learn about protection issues in accordance with relevant statutory guidance and within the context of their own roles and responsibilities”.

 

Increasing resources

  1. Oxfam GB commits to increasing resources on safeguarding work and policies: to Implement a new safeguarding strategy with clear targets and timescales against which progress can be regularly monitored. OGB is already recruiting two additional full time safeguarding officers – one based in Africa. By September 2018 we will also Implement a new safeguarding case management system to enable better and timely reporting of risks, highlights and trends - including to DfID and the Charity Commission.

 

  1. The confederation as a whole commits to an immediate injection of money and resources into Oxfam's safeguarding processes, with the number of people working in safeguarding more than doubling over the coming weeks and annual funding more than tripled to £720,000. We will also increase our investment in gender training and support across the confederation, including recruitment of additional gender leads in programmes and humanitarian response teams.

 

Improving processes

  1. Oxfam will be establishing a new, independent, external whistleblowing helpline as part of an effort to encourage more people – staff, beneficiaries and others - to come forward early and in confidence with any concerns they may have. Contracts have been signed with NAVEX Global for the provision of an independent hotline which will be live within the next month.

 

  1. Safeguarding will be a mandatory part of the interview process (e.g. checking at interview on values in practice for all staff and that managers understand their responsibilities and that those being recruited to senior leadership positions are experienced in safeguarding management) . Use of criminal records checks (DBS or nearest international equivalents) and World Check will automatically be part of recruitment for all senior country programme positions where any contact with vulnerable people is a possibility. We will apply full rigour in taking references and probe carefully the information supplied - ensuring last employer is included in internal and external references. We will place greater emphasis on people management approach and experience, in addition to technical experience

 

  1. We commit to the immediate creation of a new global database of accredited referees - designed to end the use of forged, dishonest or unreliable references by past or current Oxfam staff. Oxfam will not be issuing any references until this is in place to ensure official references are never given to offenders seeking jobs in other organisations.

 

  1. All Oxfam affiliates will have trained safeguarding focal points, and there will be trained safeguarding focal points at all major events organized by Oxfam. We will re-check that reliable systems are in place for reporting any suspected illegal activity to the relevant authorities.

 

Training, internal communications and culture change

  1. We will deliver online safeguarding training for all staff within the first few weeks of employment – those in leadership & senior management roles would in addition attend role specific more specialist training within their probationary period – so that no staff member will be confirmed in post unless and until they have satisfactorily completed the appropriate training.

 

  1. We will ensure the induction process for all staff comprehensively covers and brings to life what our values, culture and code of conduct mean in practice and what to do if staff see someone not operating in the ‘Oxfam way’. We will Include compliance with our values and code of conduct into the regular performance management of every staff member.

 

  1. We will continue to act to change cultures within Oxfam and throughout our sector that enable any form of harassment, exploitation, discrimination or abuse. This involves identifying and appointing agencies to work with and support Oxfam in achieving the cultural shift that is needed. Oxfam International’s PSEA Taskforce has already made recommendations that will be reviewed and acted upon with urgency.

 

  1. We reiterate and reinforce our commitment to putting women’s rights and gender justice at the centre of our work. Recognizing we have a lot to learn and put right as an organization, Oxfam will continue to build investment in advocacy, campaigns and programming focused on tackling the injustices women living in poverty face around the world.

 

Collaboration with the sector on wider reforms

  1. We will work with the rest of our sector to ensure people are safe, recognising that there are necessary actions that we cannot take on our own.

 

  1. We will reach out to partners and allies to rebuild trust and to seek their input on how we can learn and improve. We have a particular responsibility and need to reach out to women’s rights organisations and others who work on Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), to answer their questions, to hear their reflections and concerns, and to ensure our responses are defined in consultation with them, based on their insights and expertise.

 

  1. We will listen to and learn from feedback from supporters around the world. We will ensure two-way communication with them, responding to the concerns they raise and explaining the actions we are taking to learn and change.

 

Working together on transformative sector-wide projects.

  1. We have signed up to work on the following sector-wide reforms with the UK’s leading humanitarian and development organisations (ActionAid, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide (UK), Plan International UK, Save the Children UK):

 

  1. A system of passporting, registration or accreditation of humanitarian and development practitioners. To be transformative, this initiative must be global. However, we are committed to accelerating it under the urgent leadership of UK NGOs, with the firm intent that it will later demonstrate UK leadership in the global aid community to re-set the bar of standards and practice.

 

  1. Related to this, securing a commitment from INTERPOL to introduce global criminal records background checks. This would create one global standard, without breaching data protection laws. Likewise, we recommend that the UK Government reclassifies employment in any humanitarian or development organisation as ‘regulated’ activity. This would put all our staff members on the same footing as teachers and other professionals.

 

  1. The potential for a rapid alert system that will enable organisations to share intelligence on any individuals about whom there have been serious safeguarding allegations. To facilitate this, we will collectively review our current referencing systems so that these individuals are not re-employed by in the sector – including in INGOs, government agencies, the UN and other associated bilateral and domestic agencies.

 

  1. The creation of a new Global Centre of Excellence for Safeguarding, to bring together the best research institutes, NGOs, global organisations and the UK Government to tackle this problem. We warmly welcome the creation of the new safeguarding unit inside DFID, but to ensure that the best safeguarding minds are working on this issue we recommend bringing in colleagues from the Home Office, the Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care and other relevant departments and drawing on both domestic and global experts. It is critical we get our own house in order, but this is a problem that exists in all fragile contexts and therefore our solutions must be drawn from beyond the Department for International Development and UK-based INGOs.

 

“As the new Chair of Oxfam I share the anger and shame that behaviour like that highlighted in Haiti in 2011 happened in our organisation. It is clear that such behaviour is completely outside our values and should never be tolerated. Oxfam prides itself of being a transparent organisation that works to make life better for poor and vulnerable people, an organisation that puts women at the heart of everything we do. In the words of our Chief Executive Mark Goldring, we are ashamed of what happened. We apologise unreservedly. We have made big improvements since 2011 and today I commit that we will improve further.

"My job as a new chair is now to look forward. Mark Goldring and I are working closely together to lead this. We will continue to address the underlying cultural issues that allowed this behaviour to happen. We also want to satisfy ourselves that we do now have a culture of openness and transparency and that we fully learn the lessons of events in 2011. Not only will we always be true to those we serve and those who support us, we will also be seen to be so.”

Caroline Thomson, Chair, OGB

"What happened in Haiti and afterwards is a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years, and rightly so. In my language: "Okuruga ahamutima gwangye, mutusaasire." It means "From the bottom of my heart I am asking for forgiveness."

"Of course words are not enough. I've agreed a plan of action with Mark Goldring and Oxfam's board of international directors. Right now I have two utmost priorities for Oxfam: continuing to provide support to the millions of vulnerable people we work with around the world, and learning vital lessons from our past mistakes to make sure such abuse and exploitation does not happen again.”

Winnie Byainyima, Oxfam International Executive Director,

“People put their trust in Oxfam and we betrayed that trust. What happened was a disgrace and we are absolutely committed to rooting out abuse across the organisation.”

Mark Goldring, CEO, Oxfam GB,

 

Ends
19 January 2018

 

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