Oxfam's deputy CEO resigns over sex crimes scandal
  • 6 years ago
Now for a look at stories making headlines around the world and we start with a sex scandal surrounding the British charity Oxfam.
The deputy head of Oxfam has resigned amid reports the charity tried to cover up allegations that some staff paid for prostitutes while delivering aid in Haiti eight years ago.
For more on this and other news we turn to Ro Aram…
Aram… how deep does this scandal go and how will it impact funding for the organization?

Well Semin… Penny Lawrence is the first Oxfam executive to resign after the scandal emerged last week.
The Times newspaper reported Friday that aid workers, including the charity's country director Roland van Hauwermeiren, hired prostitutes at a villa rented to them during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
He and other staff members were also reported to be under Oxfam's radar when they worked in Chad, but they were still given senior roles in Haiti.
A second report by the paper also alleged that Oxfam failed to warn other NGOs about the allegations against its staff, allowing some of the accused to get jobs at other aid agencies.
Announcing her resignation on Monday, Lawrence said she takes full responsibility for what she called Oxfam's failure to adequately respond to the scandal.
However, the charity did not deny the accusations against its staff members, but did deny a cover-up.
Its own investigation in 2011 led to four people, including the country director, resigning for what it called "serious misconduct,' but did not provide details on what they were.
The scandal has snowballed, with lawmakers from Britain's ruling party calling for a cut in the UK's aid budget.
Oxfam executives fought to keep the millions of pounds in funding during a meeting with government officials on Monday - the outcome of which was not immediately known.
The charity is also at risk of losing funding from the European Union.
The Department for International Development has given it until the end of this week to report on how it will respond to future sexual abuse cases.
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