Initiative to fight sexual abuse by aid workers

Interpol has unveiled a new initiative to crack down on sexual exploitation of the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished people by humanitarian aid workers. Project Soteria, named after the Greek goddess of safety, has already enlisted the support of more than 20 prominent aid organizations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Project Soteria will start by rolling out simultaneous workshops to train nearly 100 child protection and sexual or gender-based violence investigators in East Africa and South Asia to use INTERPOL capabilities and other tools to target offenders. The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is an inter-governmental organisation with 195 member countries including Aotearoa New Zealand.