Menu
27/05/2008
UK Charity Reveals 'Sex-ploitation' By Peace-Keepers
Save the Children has revealed children in post-conflict zones are suffering at the hands of peace and aid workers.
The UK charity has called for the setting up of an international watchdog to monitor the foreign workers, who according to the charity are abusing the very children they were sent to protect.
The announcement came following research in the Ivory Coast Southern Sudan and Haiti.
The charity said it had sacked three of its own workers for breaching its codes after three men were dismissed after having sex with girls aged 17, which the charity said was a sackable offence, despite being legal.
The UN has said it welcomes the charity's report, which says it will study closely.
According to Save the Children, an Ivory Coast boy told them the girls are promised mobile phones and food rations.
They said: "Our fieldwork suggests that already vulnerable children are particularly at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and aid workers.These include orphans and children separated from their parents.
"Every agency is at risk from this problem. This is not to say that every person associated with the international community is a perpetrator of child sexual abuse – far from it.
"However, the breadth of local and international NGOs, UN agencies and other actors implicated by those who took part in the study suggests that this is a problem for a wide range of organisations."
The charity said they expected the establishment of a watchdog by the end of 2008 at the latest.
(DW)
The UK charity has called for the setting up of an international watchdog to monitor the foreign workers, who according to the charity are abusing the very children they were sent to protect.
The announcement came following research in the Ivory Coast Southern Sudan and Haiti.
The charity said it had sacked three of its own workers for breaching its codes after three men were dismissed after having sex with girls aged 17, which the charity said was a sackable offence, despite being legal.
The UN has said it welcomes the charity's report, which says it will study closely.
According to Save the Children, an Ivory Coast boy told them the girls are promised mobile phones and food rations.
They said: "Our fieldwork suggests that already vulnerable children are particularly at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and aid workers.These include orphans and children separated from their parents.
"Every agency is at risk from this problem. This is not to say that every person associated with the international community is a perpetrator of child sexual abuse – far from it.
"However, the breadth of local and international NGOs, UN agencies and other actors implicated by those who took part in the study suggests that this is a problem for a wide range of organisations."
The charity said they expected the establishment of a watchdog by the end of 2008 at the latest.
(DW)
Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.
26 January 2004
OFT warning over bogus doorstep charity collectors
As Britons begin think about spring cleaning, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned the public to be wary of bogus charity clothing collections – a practice which costs genuine charities around £1 million a year.
OFT warning over bogus doorstep charity collectors
As Britons begin think about spring cleaning, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned the public to be wary of bogus charity clothing collections – a practice which costs genuine charities around £1 million a year.
21 November 2003
Children more expensive than the average house
The cost of raising a child from birth to age 21 has been put at £140,000 - almost £3,000 more than the cost of an average house in the UK. Parents with three children to care for will spend almost half a million on providing for their upbringing.
Children more expensive than the average house
The cost of raising a child from birth to age 21 has been put at £140,000 - almost £3,000 more than the cost of an average house in the UK. Parents with three children to care for will spend almost half a million on providing for their upbringing.
16 December 2014
Charity Boss Found Guilty Of Sexual And Indecent Assaults On Children
A 55-year-old man has been found guilty of sexually abusing street children in Africa. Simon Harris, of Pudleston in Herefordshire, was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of seven charges of indecent and sexual assault, and of possessing indecent images of children.
Charity Boss Found Guilty Of Sexual And Indecent Assaults On Children
A 55-year-old man has been found guilty of sexually abusing street children in Africa. Simon Harris, of Pudleston in Herefordshire, was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of seven charges of indecent and sexual assault, and of possessing indecent images of children.
02 November 2012
Charity Helps Feed Malawi Children
The work of a Scottish charity to ensure Malawian school pupils can enjoy a nutritious meal at school has been highlighted by Scotland’s Education Secretary in Neno. Scottish Education Secretary Michael Russell has visited the town’s Chifunga 1 primary school and the nearby St Daniel Comboni Under-Six Centre to see the work of Mary’s Meals.
Charity Helps Feed Malawi Children
The work of a Scottish charity to ensure Malawian school pupils can enjoy a nutritious meal at school has been highlighted by Scotland’s Education Secretary in Neno. Scottish Education Secretary Michael Russell has visited the town’s Chifunga 1 primary school and the nearby St Daniel Comboni Under-Six Centre to see the work of Mary’s Meals.
21 August 2003
Children in poverty need extra £5 per week, says charity
The government will "almost certainly" miss its first target for reducing child poverty unless tax credits for children are increased from next April, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) claimed today.
Children in poverty need extra £5 per week, says charity
The government will "almost certainly" miss its first target for reducing child poverty unless tax credits for children are increased from next April, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) claimed today.
-
Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Apart from a little patchy drizzle it will be a dry evening and night with variable amounts of cloud. A few mist and fog patches forming. Minimum temperature 7 °C.
