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<p>Since early 2018 DFID has intensified work to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse
and sexual harassment in the aid sector. As part of that we have considered a wide
range of potential measures, including the two proposed in the question. Neither of
those would, however, cover employees of foreign organisations, many of whom help
deliver UK funded programmes. Therefore, we believe there are alternative non-legislative
mechanisms which better address this issue, such as those announced at the 18 October
Safeguarding Summit. These include an Interpol pilot to improve background checks,
provide advice to employers on international vetting and identify high-risk individuals;
a new passport for aid workers to prove an individual’s identity and provide their
vetting status; and a Disclosure of Misconduct scheme for the NGO sector to allow
organisations to share information about an employee’s past misconduct. These tools
are designed to work alongside existing mechanisms, such as DBS, and we are confident
they will lead to tangible improvements in safeguarding standards and better protection
of vulnerable adults and children in the aid sector.</p>
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