Oxfam Failed to Act on Early Warnings About Staff's Sexual Misconduct in Haiti - Reports

Oxfam, one of the United Kingdom's largest charitable foundations, which plunged into a major sex scandal in early 2018, failed to verify the very first claims of sexual misconduct against its staff in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a report on an investigation into Oxfam's handling of the scandal.

According to the outlet, the report, set to be published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales later in the day, found that Oxfam received emails in early 2011 alleging that the organization's relief workers in Haiti had taken advantage of young girls and women living in refugee camps after the earthquake to have sex with them.

The warning, however, fell on deaf ears because the charity believed that the emails were malicious, the newspaper reported.

Only after receiving information in July 2011 that relief staff was soliciting sex from prostitutes at one of the charity's accommodations did Oxfam launch an internal investigation into the sexual misconduct claims.

Moreover, a redacted version of a report on the internal investigation was released only in February 2018, after the story made headlines. The report said that four staffers had been dismissed and another three had resigned over their involvement in soliciting sex from prostitutes, sexual exploitation, bullying, intimidation and other violations in Haiti.