Devex: U.K. aid chiefs agree safeguarding action plan as DFID uncovers new incidents
“Aid bosses who gathered in London on Monday have agreed a ‘shortlist’ of practical steps that aim to make the sector safer and more accountable following a series of sexual abuse scandals. The United Kingdom’s aid boss, Penny Mordaunt, also revealed that the Department for International Development’s review of 179 delivery partners has uncovered 80 previously unreported incidents of issues ‘broadly related to safeguarding’ at 26 organizations. DFID has ordered those organizations to now report the incidents to the Charity Commission, the U.K. charity regulator, with Mordaunt warning delegates at Monday’s ‘safeguarding summit’ that grantees will be cut off from funding unless they can live up to ‘tough and exacting’ new standards…” (Edwards/Anders, 3/6).

The Guardian: Child sex abuse claims among cases newly reported to charity watchdog
“…The [Charity Commission] said reporting of serious incidents across all charities had doubled since early February, after allegations of sexual misconduct by Oxfam workers following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. … In a separate development on Monday, the [U.K. Parliament] International Development Committee announced an inquiry into sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in the aid sector. The new safeguarding standards announced by DFID include an assessment of codes of conduct, how organizations respond and handle incidents, and whether their risk management systems put beneficiaries first…” (McVeigh, 3/5).