Oxfam has long been one of the world’s best-known global development organizations. But in 2018, it was hit by a scandal from which it is still struggling to recover: the revelation that Oxfam workers, stationed in Haiti to help rebuild the country following a 2010 earthquake had engaged in sexual exploitation, including paying vulnerable women for sex, some of whom may have been underage.
Rokeya Kabir remembers being unsurprised when she heard the news. The magnitude of the allegations made headlines as far away as Bangladesh, where Kabir runs Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha. She remembers thinking similar reports could easily have come from any of the remote communities where her small NGO works alongside international organizations to battle the daily discrimination women face.
Many organizations “have this history,” she said. “We have to strongly deal with it, whatever comes up,” including by demanding justice when violations occur. But she stops short of suggesting that more severe punishments, such as funding cuts, be exacted against organizations. “Stopped funding means that we are also suffering,” she said.