SEXUAL exploitation and abuse in the charity sector will be examined in the wake of the Oxfam scandal in a follow-up inquiry by MPs to determine what more needs to be done to protect victims in developing countries. 

The House of Commons international development committee has launched another inquiry today to follow its last one in 2018.

The 2018 inquiry started in the aftermath of the abuse scandal in Haiti where it was discovered that Oxfam covered up its investigation into staff paying local young women for sex.

During the inquiry, the committee found that this was not an isolated incident across organisations, countries and institutions and that there had been similar cases going back at least 20 years.

They said that there had been a “clear collective failure of leadership and engagement from the top down” and “self-delusion” in the charity sector about dealing with such problems.

The committee will now look at how the establishment of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office can contribute towards “greater progress for victims and survivors” when it takes responsibility for the case from September.

The inquiry will also look at protection for whistleblowers, enforcing safeguarding standards and how the government holds other organisations accountable for their safeguarding practices. 

The committee will discuss whether victims “know their rights and feel properly supported” with legal and psychological help. 

Committee chairwoman and Rotherham Labour MP Sarah Champion said: “The fact that this inquiry is the third piece of work the committee will have undertaken on sexual exploitation and abuse in two years tells me that this issue continues to rumble on as no-one is prepared to challenge the culture that perpetuates it.”

The committee is inviting written evidence and oral evidence sessions will be announced in due course.