Oxfam has found itself deep in hot water at the moment. It was revealed that the charity’s workers in Haiti were offering vulnerable people money for sex, essentially trading what they were there to do for free as charity on the donors’ dime for sexual favours. So, of course, that guy’s out (and it turns out he’d done the exact same thing at a previous charity that got him fired). Plus, the international chairman of the charity has been arrested for corruption. So, overall, not a good week for Oxfam.
With ambassadors withdrawing support, this could be Oxfam’s downfall
US actress Minnie Driver has already withdrawn her support as a celebrity ambassador for Oxfam, with more likely to follow. The organisation can expect the donations to slow down, and deputy chief executive Penny Lawrence stepping down from her post might not be enough to win them back. Experts are saying that more moves by the organisation will “absolutely” be needed to win back support.
They are also saying that the Oxfam sex scandal will not just shake people’s confidence in Oxfam, but in “any charity” at all. One security expert with a focus on IT said, “I don’t feel confident in what goes on behind the scenes,” as a personal opinion – but that may reflect the opinions of a lot of members of the public right now.
