Description
In February 2018, The Times published a news story of sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment by Oxfam aid workers in 2011 in Haiti as part of the humanitarian relief effort following the 2010 catastrophic earthquake. The shocking exposés of Oxfam employees’ conduct during the relief effort; subsequent revelations of other such episodes; and prior longstanding concerns suggest that unfortunately there is an industry-wide problem and one particularly deep seated in aid abroad.
As a study in its infant stage, drawing on theories related to ethics and postcolonialism and an understanding of the spaces in which these aid efforts occur, we query why such exploitative activities take place within vulnerable communities. The lines of inquiry we pursue here include the power relationships between vulnerable communities and organisations offering aid; and the meanings of ethics and values ‘at home’ and in foreign lands. The research undertakes a discursive analysis of the unfolding of the Oxfam case to problematise the amoral behaviours of senior members of staff; the lack of adequate funding and safeguards to protect beneficiary communities; and management’s subsequent actions to privilege protecting Oxfam’s reputation at the cost of appropriate accountability, ethics and due care organisations owe their beneficiary communities.
