How many Oxfam shops are there in the UK, where are they and what did Helen Evans say?
Former head of safeguarding at Oxfam Helen Evans has alleged that shop volunteers as young as 14 were sexually harassed by staff and that the charity covered up the claims
FOLLOWING allegations that Oxfam workers used prostitutes while working in Haiti the beleaguered charity has been rocked by more sexual misconduct claims.
A former boss at Oxfam has now claimed that volunteers as young as 14 were sexually harassed at the organisation’s UK shops.
How many Oxfam shops are there in the UK?
There are around 650 Oxfam shops across the UK which are staffed by 23,000 volunteers.
The shops, which sell second-hand clothing, books and children’s toys, raise money to fight poverty, help emergency response and development work around the world.
Who is Helen Evans and what has she said about Oxfam?
The charity’s former head of safeguarding Helen Evans claimed shop volunteers as young as 14 had been abused but the claims were covered up.
Ms Evans, who was at the charity for more than six years, also said overseas staff had traded aid for sex with ten per cent of workers either witnessing abuse or being sexually assaulted.
She told Channel 4 News: "Behind Oxfam, there are thousands of committed staff. They put their lives at risk every day.
"In terms of the senior leadership team, I think they need to look back
Ms Evans claimed that Oxfam shop volunteers as young as 14 had come forward saying they were abused and revealed one case of an adult worker assaulting a child assistant.
Among 12 allegations of abuse over two years, one shop manager allegedly attempted to force a young volunteer to drop charges against an adult male who apparently carried out an indecent assault.
Ms Evans also claims Oxfam chief Mark Goldring failed to act on allegations a woman was coerced to have sex in return for aid in a disaster zone.
She said a meeting was held to discuss her concerns about widespread abuse but no action was taken until last year.
Ms Evans there were “those in senior leadership positions who knew the scale of what we were dealing with and in my view did not adequately respond to that”.
Her bombshell claims came after Oxfam was accused of failing to carry out criminal record checks on its 23,000 volunteers.
According to the , there were 123 alleged incidents of sexual harassment probed in its stores in just nine years.
What are the other allegations against the charity?
A report in The Times alleged aid workers within Oxfam paid for sex while on a mission to help those affected by the 2010 earthquake.
A major relief effort was launched following the quake that killed 220,000 people, injured 300,000 and left 1.5million homeless.
Sources gave the newspaper an account of "serious sexual misconduct by a group of male aid workers".
It is claimed they through parties with prostitutes at a guesthouse known as the "pink apartments" rented by the charity.
Sources alleged some of the "prostitutes" were girls aged 14-16, below the age of consent.
Paying for sex is banned under Oxfam’s code of conduct and is against UN guidelines for aid workers.
The charity said it did not call police because the state of the country made it “extremely unlikely that any action would be taken”.
Oxfam said it publicly announced an investigation into the allegations when they surfaced in 2011.
However it is alleged the reports did not say the men had been using prostitutes - something the charity denies.
What has Oxfam said about the scandal?
The charity says it disclosed sexual misconduct to the charities regulator.
Dame Barbara Stocking, head of Oxfam in 2011, told the BBC the charity had a long record of having a good code of conduct.
She added new whistleblowing procedures were put in place and said Oxfam often worked in difficult locations where "the rule of law isn't going on".
A spokeswoman for the Charities Commission said: "In August 2011, Oxfam made a report to the Commission about an ongoing internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members involved in their Haiti programme.
"At the time, and based on the information provided, we were satisfied that the trustees were handling matters appropriately and did not have regulatory concerns."
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Who has resigned or been fired?
A number of senior aid workers were dismissed following an investigation.
Four were let go and three, including the country director, were allowed to resign before the investigation ended, the charity said.
The Times reported the director, Roland Van Hauwermeiren, used prostitutes at a villa rented for him by the charity.
At the time the charity said he had left due to breaches of its code of conduct.
Now, the Aid Minister Penny Mordaunt has threatened to cut off taxpayer cash going to Oxfam as she hauls the charity bosses in to explain its prostitution scandal.
She accused them of lacking “the moral leadership at the top of the organisation”, and says Government funding will be withdrawn if it fails to comply over safeguarding issues.
And in the wake of the scandal more than 120 workers for Britain's leading charities were accused of sexual abuse in 2017 alone, it has been revealed.
Oxfam's Deputy Chief Executive Penny Lawrence resigned on February 12, saying she took "full responsibility" for the behaviour of staff "that we failed to adequately act upon".
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