Irish charities have condemned the behaviour of senior Oxfam staff following allegations of sexual misconduct in Haiti and Chad and have denied covering up a culture of abuse. British charity Oxfam has been accused of lying and failing in its “moral leadership” after it did not disclose fully the details of its investigation into employee misconduct in disaster zones. However, the Irish leg of the charity, Oxfam Ireland, has denied any involvement or connection with the behaviour of staff who were employed by Oxfam in Britain in 2011. Trócaire said it held a “zero tolerance approach to sexual exploitation” and that all staff were required to sign safeguarding policies and made aware of their mandatory duty to report any incident or allegation of abuse. A spokeswoman for Concern Worldwide said the sector as a whole was responding to the Oxfam allegations by ensuring “further measures, policies and procedures are put in place to safeguard against such breaches of conduct”.

Source: The Irish Times February 12, 2018 20:48 UTC