Oxfam Boss Quits Over Haiti Sex Scandal, Reveals New Allegations in Africa
NOT JUST HAITI
Days after anti-poverty charity disclosed quake survivors were paid for sex parties.
Oxfam’s deputy chief executive resigned Monday after the anti-poverty charity was accused of helping to cover up claims that its staff paid for “full-on Caligula orgies” with victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In a statement, Penny Laurence said she was the program director at the time and took “full responsibility” for allowing the alleged abuse to happen and said she was “desperately sorry” for the harm caused. Further, she said charity officials have become aware in recent days of similar allegations made about Oxfam staff in the African nation of Chad that it had “failed to adequately act upon.” Laurence’s resignation came after Britain's former international development secretary, Priti Patel, testified that people in the British government knew about the problems of sexual abuse in the charity sector. Oxfam officials are meeting with the British government Monday in an attempt to dissuade the international development department from cutting its funding in the wake of the scandal.
