After an aid worker reported that a colleague drugged and sexually assaulted her in South Sudan, other women came forward to report similar experiences. Researchers with the Headington Institute have now launched a new study to explore the true scope of sexual violence and harassment against women working in the humanitarian field. The organization’s representative told IRIN News that, “[w]e believe that humanitarians are experiencing sexual violence to a far greater extent than we know,” with as many as 8000 aid workers subjected to sexual violence over the past 5 to 8 years. Few women report such crimes, due to social stigma and fear of ruining their careers.
Compiled from: Wall, Imogen, Does the aid industry have a sexual violence problem?, IRIN News (September 17, 2015).