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GENEVA. – More women have reported sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers during an Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo since a report into the scandal was issued last month, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said..
Some 83 aid workers, a quarter of them employed by the WHO, were involved in sexual coercion and abuse during the country’s 10th Ebola epidemic, an independent commission said last month. read more
Dr Gaya Gamhewage, WHO acting director of prevention and response to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, highlighted concerns about the scale of abuse as the WHO seeks to implement reforms and restore trust in the UN agency.
The report cited nine allegations of rape, the youngest victim a 14-year-old girl who accused a WHO driver of offering her a ride and raping her. She later gave birth.
Gamhewage said that more people had come forward alleging abuses by aid workers at the time. She could not provide a figure as she did not have access to the complaints due to confidentiality issues.
“The more work we do, the more cases that will come to light. So already we are hearing from partners, they are also receiving more complaints,” Gamhewage said.
“This is a sign that the systems that we would like to have in place are beginning to work. We have heard through the inter-agency network that there are more complaints in Goma.”
The scandal had been a wake-up call for the aid community.
“The independent commission’s report and the testimonies of victims and survivors are a message to all agencies, not just WHO, that something is wrong with the system,” she said. “We are all shaken, we are all upset.” – Reuters
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