Oxfam Has Received 26 New Misconduct Allegations Since News Broke About The Haiti Prostitution Scandal

    They range from "very serious" in nature to allegations that previous complaints were not investigated properly, according to Oxfam's chief executive, Mark Goldring.

    Oxfam has received 26 new misconduct allegations since it emerged this month that its aid workers in Haiti used local prostitutes in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, its chief executive has said.

    Speaking in front of a parliamentary committee hearing on Tuesday, the charity's chief executive, Mark Goldring, said that the allegations relate both to recent and historical events, and that 16 relate to international programmes.

    He declined to comment further on the cases when prompted, but said they ranged from "very serious" in nature to allegations that previous complaints had not been properly investigated.

    Last year the charity received 87 allegations, he said — 50 of those relating to incidents in high street shops and trading operations. Among them were domestic abuse allegations that took place away from Oxfam premises.

    Of those, 35 incidents were reported to the Charity Commission, he said, also confirming that he thinks he has always reported serious sexual allegations to the body.

    It also emerged during the hearing that 7,000 people have cancelled their donations to the charity since the Haiti scandal.

    The committee will conduct a full investigation into the events that took place in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake — at a time when Goldring was not in charge.

    He acknowledged that, given that prostitution is illegal in Haiti, the allegations should have been reported to the police, and believes that the decision not to do so was based on local advice.

    He said that Oxfam had spoken to as many of the women involved as it could trace, and none were under 18. He admitted, however, that this did not mean no women under the age of 18 were involved.

    Goldring apologised for the actions of the Haiti workers, and for comments he made belittling the seriousness of their actions. He told the Guardian last week that the reaction was “out of proportion” and Oxfam was being treated as if it had “murdered babies in their cots”.

    “I do apologise. I was under stress, I’d given many interviews, I’d made many decisions to try to lead Oxfam’s response to this. I was thinking about amazing work I’ve seen Oxfam do across the world, most recently with refugees coming from Myanmar,” he said.

    “I should not have said those things. It is not for Oxfam to judge issues of proportionality or motivation."

    He added that he and the charity were sorry for “the damage Oxfam has done both to the people of Haiti but also to wider efforts for aid and development by possibly undermining public support”.

    “I wholeheartedly apologise for those comments and commit to work in that greater public interest so that Oxfam can make a powerful role in the world that we all believe in,” he said.