New sex abuse claims against aid workers exposed in DRC
16 May 2021
Crime scenes: These artist
illustrations portray a man
sitting at a hotel, a hospital
and a maternity ward in
Butembo, a DRC aid hub in
the Ebola outbreak of 2018-
2020 where local women were
allegedly abused. Illustrations:
Robert Flummerfelt/The New
Humanitarian
More than 20 Congolese women have accused aid workers of sexual abuse in new claims that include rape and unwanted pregnancies, with United Nations investigators uncovering similar allegations of workers exploiting vulnerable women.
The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to 22 women in Butembo, who said male aid workers responding to an Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered them jobs in exchange for sex.
WHO says internal investigation identified 2 potential victims Seven organizations named, including 3 U.N. agencies
By Robert Flummerfelt and Ange Kasongo
BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – M ore than 20 Congolese women have accused aid workers of sexual abuse in new claims that include rape and unwanted pregnancies, with United Nations investigators uncovering similar allegations of workers exploiting vulnerable women.
The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to 22 women in Butembo who said male aid workers responding to an Ebola crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo offered them jobs in exchange for sex.
The claims come as donors pressure aid groups to do more to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse while assisting the world’s most vulnerable, and follow a joint investigation by reporters last year in which 51 women in the nearby city of Beni made similar allegations.
BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo
More than 20 Congolese women have accused aid workers of sexual abuse in new claims that include rape and unwanted pregnancies, with UN investigators uncovering similar allegations of workers exploiting vulnerable women.
At a glance: Fresh allegations in the Ebola aid worker scandal
More than 20 women report sexual abuse by aid workers in Butembo.
The World Health Organization faces 14 claims, including rape.
Another woman reportedly died after a botched abortion.
Seven organisations are named, including three UN agencies.
Most of the aid workers allegedly involved are Congolese.
The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to 22 women in Butembo who said male aid workers responding to an Ebola crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo offered them jobs in exchange for sex.
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