AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
- An NGO worker who said she was raped by a UN staffer was asked by investigators how much she drank.
- The incident took place after a Baghdad hotel party in 2016, The Cut reported.
- Forty-three UN staffers said they reported sexual harassment during their time at the organization.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
An NGO worker who said she was raped by a UN Development Programme communications specialist after a 2016 hotel party in Baghdad was asked by investigators how much she drank, The Cut reported on Monday.
The woman, who was not identified in the report, said she was drugged and raped. A UN internal investigation said that after the woman reported the incident, she was asked by UNDP investigators when she started drinking at the party, how regularly she drank and if she ever had anal sex in the past.
She is one of 43 UN staffers who said to The Cut that they experienced sexual harassment during their time at the organization. And despite a few policy changes in recent years to combat the issue, staffers claim a mostly unchanged working environment inside the organization, the report said.
Many of the individuals who spoke to The Cut said they didn't report to the UN any sexual misconduct situations they experienced because they had such little faith in the system.
The UNDP didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
On its website, UNDP says all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation are "unacceptable and prohibited," and "are a betrayal of the core values of the United Nations."
"It is our collective priority to prevent such behaviours and to support those affected. We are also committed to ensure that all allegations of sexual harassment and [sexual exploitation and abuse] are responded to swiftly, appropriately and effectively," it says.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in 2017 that sexual exploitation and abuse is a "global menace" that "must end."
"Sexual exploitation and abuse has no place in our world," he said.
source https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-raped-by-un-worker-asked-by-investigators-how-much-she-drank-2021-9