DRC and another sex scandal involving the WHO during the Ebola crisis

DRC and another sex scandal involving the WHO during the Ebola crisis

Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Various organizations within the United Nations (UN) – just like charities and humanitarian groups outside the UN – have been involved in countless sex scandals and the rape of children. Hence, even during the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the same criminal and abhorrent behavior occurred once more.

Sadly, for the DRC, this is nothing new. Thus when people flee ethnic massacres – or seek help from Ebola and other viruses – the people meant to be protecting them often become their abusers.

In the latest scandal involving the World Health Organization (WHO) at least 50 women were forced to have sex. These women were vulnerable based on the dire situation they faced. Therefore, some male WHO workers offered sex for jobs and did other brutal deeds.

Voice of America reports, “An investigation by The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports more than 50 women were forced to trade sex for a job in the international Ebola aid operation in eastern DRC. The women have accused male aid workers from the World Health Organization and leading non-governmental organizations of abuse.”

The latest scandal involves the Ebola outbreak that killed 2,229 people. Hence, the city of Beni, which became the epicenter of this Ebola outbreak, is also the center of the latest sex scandal. Therefore, with another Ebola outbreak that is ongoing in the province of Equateur, the fear is that a familiar pattern will occur.

It seems unbelievable that people suffering from ethnic massacres or seeking help from Ebola – and other tragedies – would then become the targets of sexual predators. This applies to various UN agencies or charities and humanitarian groups.

However, in truth, it highlights the inhumanity of so-called “humanity” because these women were abused because they are poor and vulnerable.

This is nothing new, three years ago the Associated Press uttered, “If the U.N. sexual abuse crisis has an epicenter, it is the Congo, where the scope of the problem first emerged 13 years ago – and where promised reforms have most clearly fallen short. Of the 2,000 sexual abuse and exploitation complaints made against U.N. peacekeepers and personnel worldwide over the past 12 years, more than 700 occurred in Congo…”

The former Chief of Operations at the UN’s Emergency Coordination Center, Andrew MacLeod, highlights that the above is just the tip of the iceberg. The Times, reporting on his information, says, “He estimated that 60,000 rapes had been carried out by UN staff in the past decade, with 3,300 pedophiles working in the organization and its agencies.”