[Remarks as Prepared]
A Call to Action: Workshop on Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Community of Practice
Thank you to Development Assistance Committee Chair Susanna Moorehead for the introduction, and for demonstrating the DAC’s commitment to fostering accountability around what is such a cancerous issue in the foreign aid sector. I also want to thank you Foreign Minister Kaag for your determined leadership, not only for stepping up to co-lead this community of practice with us, but also for protecting the very people we aim to serve from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.
Eliminating the scourge of sexual abuse and exploitation is critical to safeguarding the human dignity of people around the world. It’s been at the center of a lot of my work throughout my career. As a journalist, I’ve interviewed women who experienced rape as a weapon of war in Bosnia and Darfur. As UN Ambassador, I traveled to the Central African Republic and met with families whose daughters were raped by UN peacekeepers and who are left stigmatized and ostracized in their communities.
I’ve tried to use my pen to bring light to these horrific abuses...and my seat at the UN Security Council during the Obama years to lift up the stories of women like Nadia Murad, who endured sexual slavery under ISIS, and urge the UN Secretary-General to push for accountability and punish UN peacekeepers who perpetrate sexual violence. Few behaviors are as reprehensible as sexually exploiting those in need by those who claim to serve.
The recent disturbing allegations by more than 20 Congolese women of sexual abuse by aid workers in the Ebola response, are just the latest example of an issue that is endemic to the aid sector. The stories are harrowing. In a country where abortion is illegal, one woman, who became pregnant after sexually exploited by an aid worker, died after drinking a poisonous concoction to terminate her pregnancy. Her sister said “If it weren’t for this Ebola response, [she] would still be alive and fighting for her children,”
Let’s just take a second and think about that. Not only do women have to worry about protecting themselves from a deadly disease outbreak, they also have to worry about falling prey to the epidemic of sexual abuse. We honor the courage of these women who come forward. We know that many instances of sexual exploitation and abuse live in darkness. Many women don’t even bother to report, because they fear that their abusers will not be punished. They fear they will lose their jobs. They fear they will be shamed by their family and community. These women pay an enormous price for their silence.
These are just the most recent allegations. We know this issue is not specific to the DRC. In countries throughout the world, many have fallen victim to sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment by those they looked to for a helping hand. As a development and humanitarian community, we have historically struggled with holding ourselves accountable to the people we serve. We have consistently failed to enact real reform at a systemic level.
For far too long, aid workers have been able to commit sexual abuse with impunity. Perpetrators were able to go from organization to organization, often climbing the leadership ranks without accountability. A report by British lawmakers called the aid sector a “last safe haven for abusers.” This is unacceptable. We all have a collective responsibility to reform the system and foster real accountability through the lens of a survivor-centered approach.
When we launched this community of practice with the Netherlands last fall, we aimed to gather the brightest minds from the donor, academic, and NGO community to think outside of the box about how to end sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment in the aid sector. Perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of this community is the approach of placing affected communities at the center of our response. Every single one of us is responsible for ensuring the communities we serve are first and foremost protected from harm.
USAID is leading by example. We are prioritizing a survivor-centered approach in our programming, taking their needs and wishes into account and shielding them from reprisal. But we can do more, and we can do better. A question we must often ask is “Who is at the table and whose voices are not being heard?” Looking around this room, I notice overwhelming representation from Western donors, academics and international NGOs. What’s missing are the voices and perspectives of the communities we serve.
It goes to show that if we don’t intentionally include the local community perspectives, we will unintentionally exclude them. Aside from being the right thing to do, it’s also a basic tenet of inclusive development and aligns with the humanitarian commitment of Accountability to Affected Populations.
As we move forward, we need to intentionally create space for survivors, who know best what they need to feel safe and protected when engaging with aid workers, and to take full advantage of our assistance. Their perspective is critical if we want to enact real change. We’ve already seen successful examples of this. Nadia Murad’s organization, Nadia’s Initiative, has been influential in advocating for survivors of sexual violence. She was instrumental in drafting and advocating for the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2467, which expands the UN’s commitments to end sexual violence in conflict. Our job is to create space for more organizations like Nadia’s Initiative.
The ideas put forth by this community of practice are a good first step. They reflect a deep commitment to address these issues systemically and an ambition to make meaningful change. But we must commit ourselves to turning them into action and continuing the conversation. At USAID, we will continue to hold ourselves accountable as an Agency, and we will also continue to hold our implementing partners and donor colleagues accountable. We owe it to all the survivors to do better. We cannot wait any longer. We must act now. I’ll turn it back over to Chair Moorehead so that we can continue our discussion.