Aid Workers in DRC Accused of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Ebola aid workers at the treatment center in Beni attend to 15 year old Julie, who is suspected to have the disease. [Flickr]

Sonia Farrey, the UK Political Coordinator at the UN, issued a statement on October 7 calling for an investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation perpetrated by Ebola aid workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The accusations emerged from more than 50 women in the DRC and are primarily directed at the World Health Organization (WHO). 

A joint investigation conducted by The New Humanitarian (TNH) and The Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) analyzed 34 organizations involved in the national Ebola response. Organizations were asked whether they had recieved claims of sexual assault or exploitation against their aid workers. The study concluded that numerous people had made allegations but that organizations failed to investigate all reported cases.

TNH’s study included interviews from 51 women, who reported 30 cases of sexual exploitation. None of the women interviewed were aware of support services or hotlines for reporting the abuse. 

When talking about the man she was accusing, one 24-year-old woman said that she “never considered denouncing or accusing him because everyone found this normal.” Her access to a job was contingent upon having sex with a man who worked with the WHO. 

“I didn't know where to report him, and I didn't have much trust in the police,” said another woman who was also sexually coerced by an aid worker. She refused to have sex with the worker in exchange for a job. Her friend agreed to the deal, and got the position.  

The epicenter of the Ebola outbreak is Beni, a city in the northeastern part of the DRC. Here, many women have said they were approached by men with job offers in exchange for sexual favors. Some described the widespread practice as a “passport to employment.” Oftentimes, refusal came at the cost of terminated contracts and diminished employment opportunities. 

Aid workers also came to women under the pretense of psychological help. One Ebola survivor was drugged in the lobby of a hotel before what she was told would be a counselling session. Out of fear of being stigmatized, she did not report what she believed to be a case of rape. “Instead of help, all I got was more trauma,” she said. 

The WHO stated that the allegations were under investigation but declined to say whether those reports took place during the Ebola outbreak. WHO spokeswoman Fadéla Chaib said, “We would not tolerate such behaviour by any of our staff, contractors, or partners.” 

The WHO released a statement on September 29 calling for “immediate dismissal” and “serious consequences” for anyone identified as being involved in the scandal. 

Since 2017, the WHO has investigated 10 cases of sexual exploitation, with one case in 2020. 

According to an internal report by the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse network, the UN has spent $700 million on Ebola response, yet it has only allocated $40,000 for sexual abuse prevention. 

In the organization’s quarterly update on DRC operations, the WHO revealed that 81 percent of Ebola responders were men. The survey conducted by TNH and TRF found similar demographic patterns in 15 out of 18 other organizations. 

“Increasing the number of women in senior roles in operational settings would clearly reduce the number of sexual exploitation and abuse cases,” says Miranda Brown, who was formerly with the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She added, “Typically, survivors and victims do not use standard reporting mechanisms, but rather report to persons of trust.”

Reform proposals are currently being drafted at the UN Security Council. Farrey concluded that “Sexual exploitation and abuse are completely abhorrent and the United Kingdom expects thorough investigations whenever allegations are made.”