Seriously? Is no one good in the world? Can no one keep it in their pants? You might expect Hollywood stars and business moguls and TV personalities to lack the moral fiber to avoid sexual harassment incidents, but overseas Oxfam aid workers? Come on! It’s been revealed recently that the charity’s workers in Haiti and other struggling countries have been offering money to vulnerable people in exchange for sexual favours.
This is the final straw in the #MeToo movement. What’s the point in having aid workers if they’re only going to offer aid in exchange for sex?
The whole reason that Oxfam exists is to avoid this kind of thing and put an end to it, and if they’re the ones causing it, then what hope do we have? Anyway, now, “Good Will Hunting” star Minnie Driver has become the first celebrity to withdraw their public support from the charity amid this scandal, which is a step in the right direction – hopefully others will follow.
Driver is one of many celebrity ambassadors for Oxfam, and as of today, she is officially stepping down from that position. Surely other celebrity ambassadors will follow in Driver’s footsteps – they just needed her to boldly make the first move to get the ball rolling. The “Grosse Pointe Blank” actress released a statement in which she said that she was “nothing short of horrified” by the accusations made against the overseas Oxfam workers.
Oxfam say they’re ‘grateful’ for Driver’s statement
According to an official response statement from Oxfam, the charity’s board of directors said that they were “grateful” for how Driver had reacted to the allegations, glad that she was making such a bold and valiant move and that she had been so outspoken about the matter and taken action on her feelings.
They also said that, after Driver’s comments and decision to quit her role within the organisation, they are “more committed now than ever to learn from our mistakes.” Good!
These “mistakes” go beyond just having workers who pay for sex in foreign lands. It’s not just that. They have also been accused of covering up a previous inquiry into these prostitution claims back in 2011, involving the aid workers in Haiti.
Ah, the plot thickens. These are not new allegations – the only thing that’s new is that this time, it actually made it to the press. There’s also the revelation that the worker in Haiti who has been accused of soliciting sex over there was fired from his previous post at another charity for – get this – the exact same thing! So, suffice to say, this cat’s nine lives are up.
Driver pledged that, even though she would no longer be working with Oxfam out of moral concerns, she would continue to fight against “social and economic injustice” in her own personal humanitarian work. She announced that she would “not let the abhorrent mistakes” made by Oxfam allow her to be deterred from the mission of making the world a better place.
She made a vow to continue pursuing her life goal of “support[ing] a population of human beings around the world that needs our help.”
Inquiry launched into Oxfam
Following this scandal, an inquiry has been launched by the Charity Commission to figure out what’s been going on at Oxfam. The charity have denied any covering up of past dirty deeds. No other celebrities besides Driver have addressed the scandal yet, but we’ll just have to give it time to see who comes forward in the ensuing madness. Oh, and also, by the way, the deputy chief executive of Oxfam, Penny Lawrence, has resigned, and in a separate hit for the troubled charity, its international boss, Juan Alberto Fuentes, has been arrested in Guatemala for corruption.
