The International Development Department has encouraged more aid agencies to join a data-sharing scheme that helps stop perpetrators of sexual abuse from moving around the sector undetected.
The scheme was set up in January 2019 in the wake of the sexual misconduct scandals that had emerged in the sector. It is being overseen by the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, a voluntary alliance of nine humanitarian organisations.
So far 15 organisations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, have joined the scheme, but the government would like to see 200 members by the end of this year to make it even more effective.
Last year recruiting organisations requested data from previous employers at least 2,600 times, with 39 people rejected for jobs because of what the scheme data revealed. Charities have understandably been worried that sharing such information with new employers would be considered a breach of data protection, but the scheme provides a legal framework for such data to be shared.
