A SCOTTISH mine-clearing charity made famous by Princess Diana has suspended a member of staff over a sexual assault allegation.
Dumfriesshire-based Halo Trust said it removed the junior employee last month pending an investigation and immediately informed the British government and charity regulator.
The man, who denies the allegation, is based in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
The Halo Trust was endorsed last week by Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson when she visited one of its mine-clearing operations in Kabul in Afghanistan.
Since its profile was boosted by Diana, Princess of Wales, visiting its operations in Angola in 1997, the charity has grown into the world’s largest humanitarian mine clearance organisation, employing around 8000 people in 20 countries.
A spokesman for the Halo Trust said: “In Myanmar, a junior Burmese member of staff was suspended in January this year and is currently being investigated following an allegation of sexual assault. He denies the allegation.
"The local British Embassy and DFID were informed within 24 hours of the allegation. The Charity Commission has been informed. We take such allegations extremely seriously.”
The disclosure came at end of a turbulent week for the charity sector, which has been rocked by allegations of workers sexually assaulting people they were supposed to help.
Oxfam has been heavily criticised for its handling of claims staff hired prostitutes in Haiti in 2011, and the UK government has turned off its funding pending reforms.
The Scottish Government, which has given Oxfam £7m since 2008 has also warned the aid agencies it funds they must meet the “highest moral and ethical standards” or lose money.
Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring, who faces a grilling by MPs over the charity’s conduct, apologised in a newspaper article for the way allegations had been handled.
After telling the Guardian on Friday that critics were “gunning” for Oxfam, and no-one had “murdered babies in their cots”, he struck a far more contrite note in the Sunday Mirror.
Oxfam needed to “win back the trust” of the British public, he admitted.
He wrote: “We are sorry for the mistakes we have made. We should have been more open with the public about the fact that staff in Haiti were fired for sexual abuse. As an organisation that fights for women's rights, the abuse of women in Oxfam's name is particularly hard to bear. We know we need to learn and change.”
He said Oxfam had started reforms to safeguard against sexual exploitation in future.
On ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Ms Davidson said Mr Goldring’s initial “arrogant response” showed “he doesn’t get it” and had made it harder for the charity sector as a whole.
Aid workers “raping children for food” belonged in “the lowest circle of hell”, and charities should report them to the authorities, not prioritise protecting their reputation, she said.
Asked if Mr Goldring should quit, she said: “If he wants to lead Oxfam he has to demonstrate that he understand what Oxfam has done wrong.”
Brendan Cox, widower of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016, has resigned from two charities he set up in her memory over sexual misconduct allegations.
He left posts at More in Common and the Jo Cox Foundation after admitting “inappropriate” behaviour while previously working for Save in the Children.
The Mail on Sunday claimed he had drunkenly assaulted a fellow worker outside a bar in London, leading to him being forced to leave the charity in 2015.
Mr Cox said: “I want to apologise deeply and unreservedly for my past behaviour and for the hurt and offence that I have caused. During my time at Save the Children I made mistakes and behaved in a way that caused some women hurt and offence. That was never malicious but it was certainly inappropriate.”
He continued to deny assaulting a woman at Harvard University in 2015.
Kim Leadbeater, Ms Cox’s sister, said: “As a family we will support Brendan as he endeavours to do the right thing by admitting mistakes he may have made in the past, and we respect him for doing so. We all make mistakes. Brendan is a wonderful father and I have no doubt about the happiness he brought to Jo.”
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator last week said it was aware of 13 allegations of sexual misconduct within the sector in the last two years.
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund said it had dealt with two cases of sexual misconduct by its representatives abroad since 2012, both involving children.
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