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Oxfam releases report into allegations of sexual misconduct in Haiti

A full copy of Oxfam’s final internal report has been released today.

The final internal report into allegations of sexual misconduct and other unacceptable behaviour during Oxfam’s humanitarian response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake has been made public today.

Oxfam is publishing the report, written in 2011, in order to be as transparent as possible about the decisions made during the investigation and in recognition of the breach of trust that has been caused.

Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International’s Executive Director, said “Oxfam is urgently committed to act upon the moral responsibilities we have towards women in Haiti. We are also meeting with the Government of Haiti to apologise for our mistakes and discuss what more we can do. It is vitally important we re-examine what happened, and learn from it.

“The measures we put in place as a result of the investigation mean that the case would be handled differently today, but it is clear that there is much more to be done. The action we are now taking, including an independent review of our culture and practices by women’s rights leaders, will help ensure abuse is rooted out of Oxfam and help us become more effective in our mission to help create lasting solutions to poverty.”

Last week Oxfam announced a comprehensive action plan to strengthen safeguarding systems across the organisation and stamp out abuse. The package of measures includes:

A new independent High-Level Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture Change, comprised of respected women’s and human rights leaders, which will be able to access Oxfam records and interview staff, partners and communities it supports around the world. The names of the Commission co-chairs will be released shortly.

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.

An immediate injection of 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 just over $1 million.

A commitment to improve the culture within Oxfam to ensure that no one faces sexism, discrimination or abuse, that everyone, especially women, feels safe to speak out, and everyone is clear on what behaviour is acceptable or not.

Notes to Editors

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. The full, un-redacted report has been shared with the Haitian Ambassador in London and a copy will be given to the Haitian government in a meeting on Monday morning (19 February 2018). We have informed the relevant national authorities of the names of the seven men involved in sexual misconduct.

Oxfam announces comprehensive action plan to stamp out abuse

Oxfam today announced a comprehensive plan of action to strengthen safeguarding systems across the organisation and stamp out abuse, including asking leading women’s rights experts to lead an urgent independent review of its culture and practices.

The plan was agreed yesterday by Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima in partnership with Oxfam GB Chief Executive Mark Goldring and directors across the international confederation. The wide-ranging package of measures includes:

  • A new independent High-Level Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture Change, comprised of leading women’s rights experts, which will be able to access Oxfam records and interview staff, partners and communities it supports around the world.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • A commitment to improve the culture within Oxfam to ensure that no one faces sexism, discrimination or abuse, that everyone, especially women, feels safe to speak out, and everyone is clear on what behaviour is acceptable or not.
  • Oxfam is also committing to publish its 2011 internal investigation into staff involved in sexual and other misconduct in Haiti as soon as possible, after taking steps necessary to prevent witnesses being identified. The names of the men involved have already been shared with the authorities in Haiti.

Winnie Byanyima said: “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. Mark is absolutely the right person to implement these changes in the UK.”

Mark Goldring said: “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. We are doubling the number of people who work on safeguarding to make sure we are living up to our responsibility to protect staff, volunteers and the communities we support around the world. An independent commission is being established which will review our entire operations and tell us what we need to change about our culture and practices.

“It’s vital that we act to prevent those guilty of gross misconduct from simply moving onto another organisation and potentially harming other vulnerable people. Within Oxfam, we’re are urgently setting up a new database of people authorised to give references with an immediate freeze on references until that is in place.

“These problems cannot all be solved by Oxfam alone, and we will work with the government, Charity Commission, women’s rights organisations and others in the sector to implement urgent reforms.”

The High-Level Commission will operate at arms-length from Oxfam and shape its own approach. Names will be announced within a few days. Oxfam will provide the resources it needs to do its job effectively, across the confederation, including full access to records, staff as well as partners and communities supported by the organisation. As part of the Commission’s work, it will create an historical record about cases of sexual misconduct and abuse of power that is as complete as possible, which will be made publicly available.

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70% of Tongan population affected in wake of Cyclone Gita

The full scale of destruction is beginning to emerge from Tonga in the aftermath of the severe tropical cyclone Gita.

Around 50,000 people, or almost 70% of the country’s population, have been affected, a third of whom are children.

Water supplies across the main island of Tongatapu have sustained significant damage, making the risk of further outbreaks of waterborne disease a very real threat. Tonga was already addressing an outbreak of dengue fever in Tongatapu before the storm hit.

Jane Foster, Oxfam’s country director for Tonga, said: “Homes have been destroyed, government buildings flattened, and churches devastated. We have one report of a man, who is one of our local partners, sheltering in his home with his family as part of it was ripped away while they watched in horror.

“The impact of this severe storm will be felt on many people’s livelihoods for a long time to come. We also have grave concerns for the immediate threat from damage sustained to water supplies as the risk of contamination is high. There is a real risk of a second disaster from water and mosquito borne illnesses like dengue.”

“Our focus right now is to support our local partners to conduct assessments as quickly as possible – they are out there now finding out exactly where the most urgent needs are. Oxfam’s main relief efforts will focus on our area of expertise: providing safe water for people, as well as sanitation supplies and public health support to help prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.”

Severe tropical cyclone Gita made landfall in the southern part of Fiji last night. Ms Foster said the agency was deeply concerned for communities in the outer islands, who are yet to make contact.

“Some of these islands that are going to be affected are extremely remote and hard to reach in the best of times. We hope that preparedness plans and evacuation centres keep people safe until support reaches them.”

New Zealanders wanting to support people affected by Cyclone Gita are urged to ensure their generosity has the biggest impact by sending cash, not goods, Ms Foster said. “In a disaster, many people are often moved to send goods they think can help. But for the cost of shipping nine litres of bottled water from New Zealand to Nuku’alofa, Oxfam can produce over 16,200 litres of safe drinking water in Tonga.”

Donations to support Oxfam’s emergency responses in the Pacific and around the world can be made online at oxfam.org.nz/drf or by calling 0800 600 700.

Cyclone Gita heading towards Tonga: Oxfam poised to respond

Oxfam is on standby to respond to Cyclone Gita, as latest forecasts predict the storm could intensify up to a category 5 cyclone before affecting Tonga later tonight.

Up to 70% of the country’s population is at risk with the severe tropical cyclone expected to pass near the populated main islands of Tongatapu and ‘Eua. The storm’s impact may also be felt in the low-lying Ha’apai group, where damaging winds, rain and storm surge are likely.

With the country already addressing an outbreak of dengue fever in Tongatapu, the deterioration of sanitation conditions on the island could increase the risk of a second disaster due to the spread of dengue and other vector and water-borne diseases.

Oxfam stands ready to support the Tongan government, which may include mobilising local partners and other emergency personnel.

Oxfam, along with its partner the Tongan National Youth Congress (TNYC), has disaster preparedness programmes in Ha’apai and Vava’u. Oxfam is liaising with TNYC and the Tongan government to prepare for an appropriate and coordinated response.

Jane Foster, Oxfam’s country director for Tonga, says: “Once the urgent needs are assessed we are expecting to help coordinate the supply of clean water and sanitation for those affected by the disaster.

“Oxfam has a long-established presence in Tonga and Samoa and we have pre-positioned emergency supplies already in-country ready to be deployed should they be required.”

If you’d like to help us support those affected by disasters like Cyclone Gita, donate to our Disaster Response Fund.

Oxfam’s reaction to recent news on sexual misconduct in Haiti and Chad

Over the past few days, the media has talked of sexual misconduct by staff employed by Oxfam Great Britain in Haiti seven years ago, as well as in Chad in 2006.

“Following the media coverage surrounding cases of sexual misconduct involving Oxfam Great Britain in 2011, I saw it as extremely important to get in direct contact with supporters of all kinds – donors, campaigners, event participants, event volunteers – to share our shock, and sadness, at the abuse of power, to acknowledge your concerns and to share the actions we took then as a global network of Oxfams and the actions we are taking now.

“If you aren’t on our email lists (you may have advised us to not send you information) and haven’t received a direct message from me and would like to, or you have questions about the recent news coverage, please get in contact with us by phone (0800 600 700) or by email ([email protected]). We don’t want any of you to feel like you are uninformed or with unanswered questions.

“Thank you for your continued support, and for your commitment to making a better, fairer world for all.”

Rachael Le Mesurier
Executive Director
March 6, 2018


Over the past few days, the media has talked of sexual misconduct by staff employed by Oxfam Great Britain in Haiti seven years ago, as well as in Chad in 2006.

It hurts all of us at Oxfam, deeply, to hear that a few Oxfam Great Britain staff abused the very people they were sent to help.

What happened in Haiti and clearly in other countries we work in was a few privileged men abusing the very people they were meant to protect – and our processes were too weak to stop them. Oxfam gave them power and they used it against powerless women. They betrayed their trust and the trust of our supporters and of the governments that allow us to come in to respond and support their people.

They also betrayed the trust of hundreds of thousands of Oxfam staff – kind and dedicated women and men. People who wake up every day to put themselves on the front-lines to help save the lives of others. These people represent the Oxfam I believe in – not those men who abused others.

Back in 2011 when this happened, several staff were fired. A few resigned during the investigation, or left the country, leaving Oxfam unable to satisfactorily resolve disciplinary measures. Acting on legal advice at the time, the Oxfam Great Britain Haiti Country Director was allowed to resign as he cooperated transparently with the investigation. Though the media has reported that Oxfam gave positive references to these staff, this did not happen. We have never and will never endorse individuals who are capable of such behaviour.

We always seek to do better and to learn. Oxfam today as a global confederation has grown significantly since 2011, and has put stringent and powerful measures in place to make sure this kind of behaviour never happens again.

Since the Haiti case in 2011 we have introduced a range of measures including a Global Taskforce on Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation & Abuse that is co-chaired by our Oxfam International Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima.

The Oxfam Great Britain Deputy CEO, Penny Lawrence, has resigned. We respect her decision to take responsibility for incidents that happened on her watch.

Oxfam around the globe is united with you in outrage against the behaviour of these few men. It was then, and is now, unacceptable. We stand with the women and girls who experienced this exploitation. In view of our work advancing women’s rights, especially in situations of vulnerability, it’s imperative that sexual misconduct is stamped out everywhere. Your support is integral.

Top 5 questions you asked about the new Oxfam inequality report

Blog by Nick Bryer, Oxfam Global Inequality Lead


Our new report about the state of inequality in the world reveals how our economy is delivering unimaginable rewards for those at the top by exploiting millions of ordinary workers at the bottom.

As soon as we published it, we started to receive lots of great comments and questions. Here are some of the most interesting questions we’ve been asked, and our answers to them.

1. “Poverty is going down globally. People are living longer, healthier lives. Why should we care if a few people are also getting really rich?”

It’s absolutely true – and absolutely brilliant – that extreme poverty has declined very significantly over the past 25 years. In fact, the number of people living in extreme poverty – which is defined as anyone living on less than $1.90 a day – has more than halved. However, there are several reasons why that doesn’t mean we can now put our feet up, or even carry on along the same path that we’ve been going down.

Over this same time period, inequality has been increasing within most countries, and is now at dangerously high levels. There’s a great deal of evidence to show that extreme inequality leads to very negative social, political and economic impacts. It also stands in the way of the fight against poverty. Yes – lots of people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty in recent years, especially in countries like China, but the data shows that 700 million more people could have been lifted out of poverty by the end of last decade if inequality had been reduced at the same time.

Also, while the number of people in extreme poverty has reduced, there are a huge number of people who are poor but not ‘extremely poor’ because they earn slightly more than $1.90 a day. They still work very long hours in difficult and dangerous jobs, and they are still struggling to make ends meet. This includes many of the people who grow our food and make our clothes. They work in global supply chains that are channelling huge wealth to those at the top, while failing to pay a living wage to those at the bottom.

How can we accept such injustice?

Join the movement to fight inequality and beat poverty

2. “Oxfam is a charity – why are you talking about politics?”

Ending poverty is Oxfam’s reason for being – but we know that we can’t achieve our goal unless we work with others to tackle the big, structural issues that push people into poverty and keep them trapped there.

This means addressing really big challenges such as economic inequality, gender discrimination and climate change. And these problems are all fundamentally about power.

To understand their causes and to find solutions, we have to look at who has been making the big decisions, whose interests they have been acting in and whose voices have been excluded. We also have to look at who has the responsibility and the ability to put things right – and very often that means challenging governments to make better decisions.

3. “Oxfam keeps criticizing big companies. Are you anti-business?”

We’ve been asked this a few times over the years, but it simply isn’t true. Much of Oxfam’s work involves actively supporting and developing enterprises in communities around the world. We have productive partnerships with many companies, large and small.

What we are against is the kind of business model that maximizes profits by paying poverty wages, endangering workers, trashing the planet, or aggressively dodging tax. We are happy to be seen as anti those kinds of business.

We want to see companies showing that there is a different way of doing business – that profit is not the only thing that matters to them.

We want to see governments regulating against bad business practices, and actively supporting more positive ones. That includes encouraging the development of alternative business models that have a social purpose at their heart and that distribute power and profit more fairly among their different stakeholders.

4. “Last year you said that 8 men owned the same wealth as half the world. Now, you’re saying that it’s 42. So it sounds like inequality is getting better – but you’ve also just said it’s getting worse! Which is it?”

Unfortunately, those two numbers aren’t directly comparable. We base these statistics on data from the Forbes Rich List and from the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. Credit Suisse is the most reliable source for data on how much wealth is held by different sections of the global population – including the value of stocks and shares, housing, livestock etc. That’s obviously a very difficult thing to calculate so they’re always trying to add to and improve their data sources. That means we can’t always compare a new figure with something we’ve published in the past.

To work out how inequality is changing over time, we need to re-calculate the figures for previous years using the latest data set.  When Oxfam did this we found that actually 61 people owned the same wealth as half the world in 2016 (rather than 8). And that 61 has now dropped down to 42, which is consistent with all the other evidence showing how wealth inequality is increasing.

The really important point here isn’t whether it’s 8 or 42 or 100 people who have the same wealth as half the world. The point is that an elite group of billionaires – mostly men – are rich beyond their wildest dreams, while 3.7 billion people have less than 1% of the world’s wealth between them. And that enormous imbalance in wealth translates into an enormous imbalance of power and opportunity.

5. “Oxfam talks as though the economic pie cannot grow, and so it’s just a question of sharing that pie out more equally. But that’s obviously not true. If the economy grows, there will be more for everyone. And billionaires are the real wealth creators, driving that economic growth, so why shouldn’t they be rewarded for that?”

Of course, economic growth can bring benefits with it – but at the moment, we see that those benefits are mostly going to those at the top. 82% of the wealth created in the world last year went to the top 1%. We need both governments and businesses to take action to ensure growth benefits everyone – and particularly those at the bottom.

Economic growth isn’t driven by the actions of a few entrepreneurs. It’s built on the labour of millions of ordinary people who make things, grow things, buy things. Everyone has a right to share in the benefits of that growth.

The IMF have recently shown that redistribution – taxing the rich more and using the proceeds to pay for public services for everyone – is a great way of tackling inequality, and doesn’t have a negative effect on economic growth.

While inclusive economic growth is going to play a really important role in ending poverty in many countries, we also know that we have to tackle inequality at the same time, or we’ll destroy the planet that we all depend upon. With current levels of inequality, our global economy would need to grow 175 times bigger before everyone was able to earn $5 a day. That’s obviously completely unsustainable.

We have to find a different and better route to shared prosperity.

We are asking people to help spread the word and to join with us to demand governments and big businesses do things differently.