Child sex abuse claims among cases newly reported to charity watchdog

Allegations of sexual abuse of children and rape of volunteers abroad are among the 80 serious safeguarding incidents reported to the Charity Commission by aid organisations since the Oxfam scandal broke, it has emerged.

Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary, said 26 charities had come forward to report recent and historical cases, covering the “full spectrum” of incidents where people had been harmed or were at risk of harm.

The Charity Commission said the incidents ranged from very serious allegations of abuse, including sexual abuse of volunteers, beneficiaries and children, to reports of safeguarding procedures not being followed.

Some aid charities had come forward with allegations that it had not been previously aware of, said the commission, which refused to name the charities involved. Seven aid groups had reported incidents that had taken place over the last financial year, it said.

The commission said reporting of serious incidents across all charities had doubled since early February, after allegations of sexual misconduct by Oxfam workers following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The commission, which normally receives reports of 50 serious incidents a week across all UK charities, said it had seen that number rise to 100, with the increase relating specifically to safeguarding issues.

“The sector needs to recognise it has a responsibility here and the weight it has given in the past is not good enough,” said Mordaunt, speaking at a safeguarding meeting of charity heads convened after the Oxfam revelations.

Mordaunt announced “tough and exacting” standards that all aid organisations would have to meet if they were to apply for funding from the Department for International Development (DfID).

Source: theguardian