Submitted by crinadmin on
Ending the exploitation and abuse of women and girls is one of the biggest challenges confronting communities in West Africa and we need to continue to do everything we possibly can do to stop this. Oxfam has been leading the aid sector to try and stop sexual abuse in west Africa and has a zero tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and investigates all allegations of abuse. For the past four years we have been working hard to reduce the risk of abuse and exploitation to the vulnerable poor people we work with. We have introduced codes of conduct for our own staff and volunteers as well as training other international and local NGOs, government and UN agencies. Oxfam has also set up an internal team to investigate abuses should they arise. To date there has not been any confirmed cases of sexual abuse by Oxfam staff in Liberia. Poverty and 14 years of conflict in Liberia have made women and girls even more vulnerable to abuse from men in all areas of life. Oxfam is working and will continue to work very hard to curb this within its role as an NGO but it will take time and concerted efforts by all actors to stop these abuses.