Category: Political Struggle

If you follow the news on philanthropy, you have probably heard about Oxfam’s troubles. One of the oldest and largest global relief and development organizations, Oxfam is now facing heavy scrutiny due to sexual misconduct by some of its staff in Haiti in 2011. The Haitian government has suspended some of Oxfam’s operations in its country for two months while it investigates how the nonprofit handled the allegations of Oxfam’s sexual misconduct during their humanitarian response in 2011. An estimated 7,000 individual supporters have since abandoned the organization since the allegations were reported in February this year, although the nonprofit asserts that their corporate partners have not withdrawn support. (A helpful timeline of events about the Oxfam crisis is available at Third Sector.)

Crisis = Opportunity

As you might imagine, Oxfam is working hard to address the problems internally by strengthening systems that identify and respond to abuse and misconduct. Since 2011, a Safeguarding Team was created, equipped with a confidential “whistleblowing” phone line as part of that effort. On February 16, Oxfam released a statement outlining several other ways that safeguarding will now be enhanced: 

1. New High Level Commission: Oxfam established a “new independent High-Level Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture Change.” This commission is comprised of women’s rights experts and other leaders who will have open access to Oxfam’s records, staff, partners, and communities where people have received Oxfam relief services,  who will work independently to investigate and develop new ways to hold abusers accountable and change the culture of the organization.
2. Ensuring that References for Employees are not Forged: Oxfam has committed to creating “a new global database of accredited referees – designed to end the use of forged, dishonest or unreliable references by past or current Oxfam staff.” This was one of the issues that led to former Oxfam staff who were perpetrating sexual misconduct being hired by other agencies.
3. More Financial Resources to Bolster Safeguarding Systems: Oxfam has pledged to more than triple the annual funding for safeguarding to £720,000 and double the number of staff dedicated to this work within the agency.
4. Improve Agency Culture Throughout: Oxfam already has a Code of Conduct which all employees must sign. It will now work on improving its internal culture, ensuring that everyone, especially women, feel safe and able to speak up about problems and know that they will be listened to and the issue dealt with.
5. Publishing Its Internal Investigation from 2011: Oxfam wants to clear its name in the question of whether it covered up any of the abuse. It has published the 2011 internal investigation into staff involved in sexual and other misconduct in Haiti and provided authorities in Haiti with the names of the alleged perpetrators that were part of its staff.

All of these measures provide reassurance that the agency is seeking to rebuild public trust and ensure that things improve going forward. Alongside these new efforts, it’s important to remember that Oxfam has been a long-standing ally for gender equality in development. As we’ve reported here at Philanthropy Women, Oxfam has invested decades into programming, research and advocacy to break down gender barriers and create a more just world for women. 

To learn more about this history and how it is co-mingling with the current crisis, we recently talked with Nikki van der Gaag, Director of Women’s Rights and Gender Justice at Oxfam GB.  We wanted to get van der Gaag’s take on how the organization is faring in its efforts to hold its ground as a leader in gender justice and women’s rights.

“The lessons of feminist movement-building are also the lessons of Oxfam internally. The strategies are not so different,” said van Der Gaag. “What women run up against again and again is the power dominance of men across all sectors.” In a blog post published by Oxfam on International Women’s Day, van der Gaag acknowledged that she was not feeling as celebratory about the day this year as she would normally, in the wake of “appalling” behavior of Oxfam employees in Haiti, and the widespread sexual abuse and harassment scandals emerging throughout the development and relief sector. “Instead, for many of us, it is a time for self-reflection, for listening and speaking out, and for recognizing what many feminists already knew – that in big institutions such as the UN and INGOs and other charities, men still hold the power as much as in the media or Hollywood, the Church or the judiciary.”

Indeed. This is one of the reasons the #MeToo movement has been so powerful — because it holds individual perpetrators of abuse accountable, and the court of public opinion is demanding action. #MeToo suddenly provides transparency, where, throughout time, acts of abuse have largely been shrouded in secrecy. One could argue that it is no coincidence that #MeToo preceded the emergence of sexual abuse and harassment scandals in the development sector, and that its power will have lasting implications for how the sector operates going forward.

Van der Gaag comes at the problem not from a policing approach, but from an approach that inspires the staff at Oxfam to see gender as integral to all that they do. The organization’s 2016/2017 Annual Report embeds its work for women within its overall strategy thusly: “Throughout all our efforts, we focused on water, women, work and inequality, because saving lives in disasters, advancing women’s rights and building fair livelihoods are the most effective ways to end poverty for good.”

So what does this look like on the ground? Oxfam’s work on gender takes many forms. “We have long been working with rural women in Colombia to earn a better living, understand their rights and influence the government,” said van der Gaag. ” We’re mobilising men in Zambia to condemn violence against women through a public campaign. In  the disaster-prone Philippines, we are working to increase women’s confidence and status by supporting them to lead their communities and  improve their income. In Iraq, we’re helping survivors of gender-based violence recover and create small businesses and earn income.” More details about each of these initiatives are available in the latest annual report.

“For me, interestingly, one of the unexpected outcomes of what has happened in the past weeks is much more staff engagement. I think this really gives us an opportunity to strengthen inspiration at all levels,” said van der Gaag. She sees “getting the systems right first” as an essential way to address the problems of sexual abuse and harassment in organizations. “You need people in every department to raise the issue of gender as a matter of course, and for everyone to understand their role in this.”

Van der Gaag also feels strongly that we need to use Oxfam’s sexual misconduct crisis in the development sector positively. “It provides an opportunity to redouble our efforts,” she said. She sees Oxfam’s troubles as part of the global movement to challenge gender norms in myriad ways, both in our personal relationships and our community institutions. “We need to challenge the individuals and institutions that perpetuate privilege, in order to ensure that those who exploit their power, whoever and wherever they are, do not get away with it.”

Much agreed. Perhaps all development and relief nonprofits should take a cue from Oxfam right now and double or triple their internal investment in employee training and supervision to prevent abuse and misconduct. Such action could accelerate gains for nonprofit organizational culture, which could have ripple effects that add to the gains being made for gender equality movements across the globe.

Related:

Making the Connection Between Gender Equality and the Environment

Geographical Sums Up Global Gender Quandaries in November Article

To Aid Gender Equality, Reward Work, Not WealthRead More