In 2018, following incidents of sexual misconduct in the aid and development sector reported in the UK media, the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) commissioned two reviews examining the Australian Aid and international development sector.
The first, conducted by Learning4Development, was a review into the strength of the ACFID Code of Conduct in setting standards for the prevention of sexual misconduct. The second, conducted by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM), was an independent review to improve the practice and response of ACFID's members in the prevention of sexual misconduct.
The reviews resulted in two reports outlining recommendations for strengthening the ACFID Code of Conduct and strengthening sector-wide practice and culture. ACFID accepted the recommendations of both reports and immediately began work to implement them. In April 2019, ACFID released its implementation plan setting out a roadmap to deliver against our commitment to the recommendations made.
In June 2019, we provided our first annual update against the recommendations, setting out our key achievements, and acknowledging that our sector still had a way ahead of us to reshape and improve how our organisations protect people.
This is ACFID's second annual update, consistent with our commitment to remain accountable to victims/survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse as set out in our implementation plan. It sets out how our organisations have progressed against the commitments detailed in our implementation plan, key achievements from ACFID and its members in this regard, and includes a breakdown of our progress to date against each of the 31 recommendations set out in the VIFM report.
Yet, there is still more to be done. ACFID remains committed to leading our sector's collective action, and invites our members, their partners, donors, victims/survivors, and all those affected to continue to hold us to account.
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