Minnie Driver has quit her role as celebrity ambassador for Oxfam in protest at the charity’s sex scandal.
The British actress, who has supported the charity for 20 years, said she was ‘horrified’ by allegations that some Oxfam aid workers had sex with underage prostitutes in crisis-hit countries, the Telegraph reports.
‘I am nothing short of horrified by the allegations against Oxfam International,’ she said in a statement.
‘In no uncertain terms do I plan to continue my support of this organization or its leaders.
Minnie Driver has quit her role as celebrity ambassador for Oxfam in protest at the charity’s sex scandal
‘And though it is unfortunate that after 20 years I am no longer able to advocate and defend through this specific framework, social and economic injustice is more globally prevalent than ever.’
She added that she won’t let the ‘abhorrent mistakes of a troubling organization’ stop her or anyone else from ‘working with good people in this space to support a population of human beings around the world that needs our help.’
The deputy head of the charity resigned on Monday, saying Oxfam had failed to adequately respond to past allegations of sexual misconduct by some staff in Chad and Haiti.
On Friday, the Times reported that some staff who were in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there had paid for sex with prostitutes.
Oxfam has neither confirmed nor denied that specific account but has said an internal investigation in 2011 had confirmed sexual misconduct had occurred.
Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise said ‘what transpired is a violation of basic human decency’ and he would not tolerate support from charities whose staff exploited communities.
‘There is nothing more shameful than a sexual predator using the veil of catastrophe as a means to exploit the vulnerable in their most defenceless moments,’ he said in a statement.
Haiti’s minister of planning and external cooperation summoned Oxfam representatives to a meeting on Thursday.
‘These would be both serious sexual crimes and a crime against development in light of the potential diversion of external assistance for the purpose of illegal criminal activities,’ the minister, Aviol Fleurant, said.
Prostitution is a crime in Haiti, but it was not entirely clear what other crimes the Oxfam officials may have committed.
Oxfam officials in Haiti were not immediately available for comment during the country´s carnival holiday.