That funding round has just closed, and the Commission said it would continue to review and refine the governance checks which it has in place.
Guernsey’s Overseas Aid Commission also said it welcomed the publication of the national report, which highlighted that aid organisations have so far been ineffective in protecting the victims or stopping the offenders within the sector, and demands action.
But the Commission stressed the report did not suggest that funding should be withdrawn from aid – if anything, it encourages the UK’s Department for International Development (“DfID”) to beef up its support for charities to develop proper systems to manage safeguarding and protection. But it is absolutely clear that people who receive aid must not come to harm at the hands of those who should be helping them – and that aid agencies must be held accountable for keeping people safe.
Pictured: Oxfam was one of the charities initially criticised for sexual exploitation
Deputy Emilie Yerby, Guernsey’s Overseas Aid Commission President, [pictured top] said: “I am sure that everybody will share my sadness about the scale of sexual exploitation within the aid sector that this report has identified. However, we must remember that many aid organisations do undertake their work in a culture where harassment, abuse and exploitation are never acceptable, and actively promote reporting such acts.
“The Commission strives to ensure that any charity we support has appropriate and robust policies in place to ensure that all working with or benefiting from the charity’s work are protected from sexual exploitation and abuse and that policies are properly implemented and monitored for effectiveness.”
The transformations demanded of the aid sector are similar to those which providers of health and care have undertaken following major scandals – a much greater focus on the voices of people who’ve suffered; introducing appropriate mechanisms for complaint and redress; putting in place stronger organisational safeguards against abuse and exploitation, and making sure that people who’ve committed abuse are properly sanctioned.
In Guernsey, the Commission said it would be asking the Policy & Resources Committee to discuss the aspects of the report which relate to regulation of charities. In the UK, this is done by the Charities Commission and, although there is a Register of Charities, there is no real equivalent in Guernsey.
It also said it was contacting all overseas aid charities registered with the Association of Guernsey Charities to invite them to discuss any support or training they might need in respect of safeguarding and child protection, and to explore how the Commission may be able to support that.