51 Congolese women report sexual abuse of WHO, UNICEF and several NGOs
- Research has shown that volunteers from the world's top humanitarian organizations have committed sexual abuse to a number of women in Congo, in sub-Saharan Africa. It was between 2018 and 2020. The denounced are men and women workers of NGOs who have mobilized to help overcome the unforgettable Ebola pandemic.
News agency New Humanitarian and Thomson Reuters Foundation have published a one-year investigation, which has been published by the media The Telegraph. The consequences have shaken the major global NGOs once again, without clarifying the responsibilities of the Oxfam case in Haiti.
The investigation resulted in 51 complaints from women travelling in the property. Some of the volunteers from the world ' s major humanitarian organizations have sexually abused them or exploited them. These NGOs include the World Health Organization, Oxfam, UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières, World Vision, Alima and the United Nations Organization for Migration.
Most of the complaints (31) are directed against the workers of the World Health Organization and eight other women report that their abusers worked for the Congolese Ministry of Health. The victims have not been able to confirm the exact nationality of all men, according to official sources. However, it is known that some of them come from Belgium, Canada, France, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, among other countries. As a result of these accusations, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has requested an investigation into the case.
Women have denounced that humanitarian workers offered them sex or forced them to give them work. If the women said no, they threw them out. Most were cooks or cleaners with short contracts of between 50 and 100 dollars a month. Twice the average wage in Congo. Men from NGOs working as doctors, administrators and health workers used official drivers to bring women to hotels, homes and offices. The investigation was supported by four of the drivers who participated in it.
One of the complaints filed is that of a 32-year-old woman who passed Ebola. The investigation reveals that a man called him inviting him to attend an advisory session in which phone numbers of Ebola patients were kept for follow-up after discharge. He went to the appointed hotel, met in the lobby and invited him to a refreshment. A few hours later he woke up alone and naked in a hotel room. The man has denounced being raped and denied participating in the aggression.
"I lost my husband to the Ebola virus," he said, adding that he remained silent about the incident, as he felt rejected by people who were afraid to spread the virus. "Instead of help, I got a bigger trauma. Two other women became pregnant.
Most abuses occurred in the city of Beni in eastern Congo, one of the epicenters of the outbreak. There may well be more complaints that have not been made known.
Doctors without Borders, UNICEF and members of the Congolese Ministry of Health have stated that they were unaware of the allegations before they were made public and that further information is needed to take action.
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