Oxfam crisis: what we know so far
Take a look at all the charity sector headlines from the last week
Our Researcher Mairéad Bailie surmises the Oxfam crisis which has been dominating the headlines.
Oxfam crisis: what we know so far
The Charity Commission have contacted Oxfam in relation to claims that ‘some employees of the charity in Haiti were allowed to resign or were sacked for gross misconduct after allegedly using prostitutes’.
- The Charity Commission said it was told in 2011 about an ongoing internal investigation, but was not told of the nature of the claims or that it involved “potential sexual crimes involving minors“.
- The Commission has now (February 2018) reported having concerns that Oxfam may not have “fully and frankly disclosed material details’’ and yesterday opened a statutory inquiry into Oxfam.
- Similar claims have since emerged about the charity’s Chad programme, and Oxfam has been criticised for failing to provide the full details of either case to the Charity Commission or the government.
- The deputy chief executive of Oxfam, Penny Lawrence, who was programme director at the charity when the alleged incidents took place has resigned.
- Oxfam now risks losing £29m in European funding and £34 m in UK government funding.
Further details about the scope of the inquiry will be made public in the coming days, the regulator said.
