LONDON: British aid agency Oxfam said it had dismissed 22 members of staff over allegations of sexual abuse in the past year, as campaigners called on governments to strengthen oversight of aid groups they fund.

Media reports of inappropriate behaviour by Oxfam staff emerged amid heightened global attention around sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace in the wake of dozens of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.

Oxfam said it dealt with 87 claims of sexual exploitation and abuse involving its workers in the year ending April 2017, a 36 per cent increase on the previous year. The charity employs more than 5,000 people worldwide.

“Donors and government entities need to ask more questions of the people that they are funding,” said aid worker Megan Nobert, who founded the Report the Abuse campaign group after she was raped by a colleague while on assignment at a UN peacekeeping base in South Sudan.

Oxfam said it referred 53 of the complaints to police and other services, while 33 were internally investigated, with about three-quarters resulting in disciplinary action.

“Oxfam treats all allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation very seriously,” the anti-poverty charity said in a statement, attributing the rise in numbers to better reporting procedures, including a confidential whistle-blowing help line. Data on allegations of sexual abuse by staff was published in its annual report every year, it added.

Nobert said sexual misconduct was a pervasive problem within the aid community.

A 2016 survey of 1,000 female aid workers at 70 organisations found about one in two had experienced persistent sexual advances or unwanted touching at least once in their careers while on a mission. Less than a third reported the incidents, with most saying they remained silent out of fear for their career. Others cited shame, luck of trust in the system and the absence of a report mechanism.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2017