James Duddridge Local Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East Questions Oxfam CEO on Sexual Exploitation Scandal in Haiti during International Development Select Committee Emergency session.
On Tuesday during an International Development Select Committee Emergency session James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, questioned representatives of Oxfam about their role and how much they knew about the recent scandal, in which vulnerable women were sexually exploited in Haiti.
In his role as a member of the International Development Committee, James asked about the extent of a potential cover up within Oxfam. During the session the CEO of Oxfam, Mark Goldring, apologised for his insensitive comments last week in which he unfavourably compared the scandal to “murdering babies”.
James also quizzed representatives from the charity Save the Children about whether this problem was systemic across the aid sector, and whether the sector was likely to attract predatory individuals.
The Committee further announced that they would be conducting a full inquiry sexual misconduct in the aid sector in the wake of the scandal.
James said:
“I am pleased that we will be conducting a full inquiry into these tragic events. Whilst we can never undo the damage which has been done to the victims of this abuse, hopefully we can get to the bottom of the story. I hope our findings will lead to widespread reform and better safeguards being put in place across the aid sector, not just at Oxfam, and help to ensure that this never happens again.”