UK severes relationship with Oxfam over pay-for-sex allegations in Haiti

The UK government says it is reviewing its current work with one of Britain’s biggest aid agencies, Oxfam, amid allegations some of its senior employees paid for sex in Haiti in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake.
An investigation by The Times newspaper in London alleges Oxfam covered up misconduct by senior aid workers, including the then-country director Roland van Hauwermeiren.
The newspaper says a confidential report by the charity found that van Hauwermeiren, who resigned in 2011, paid women for sex in the villa the charity had rented for him during the relief efforts. CNN has not independently reviewed the charity’s internal report.
According to the paper, the report also found that “children may have been among those sexually exploited by aid workers,” and that there had been a “culture of impunity” among some staff in Haiti.
In a statement, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) says it was informed by Oxfam in 2011 that an investigation had been launched but that at no time did Oxfam disclose that the allegations related to sex with underage girls or prostitutes. It says Oxfam’s report to the UK Charity Commission only referred to “sexual misconduct”.
“We often work with organisations in chaotic and difficult circumstances. If wrong doing, abuse, fraud, or criminal activity occur we need to know about it immediately, in full. The way this appalling abuse of vulnerable people was dealt with raises serious questions that Oxfam must answer,” the Department said in a statement on Saturday.
“We acknowledge that hundreds of Oxfam staff have done no wrong and work tirelessly for the people they serve, but the handling by the senior team about this investigation and their openness with us and the charity commission showed a lack of judgement. We have a zero tolerance policy for the type of activity that took place in this instance, and we expect our partners to as well.