Save the Children current and former staff are coming together to demand more from our leaders in the handling of the recent sexual misconduct stories. Sign your name to the letter below which will be sent to our leaders demanding action. Your information will not be shared.

Since the recent sexual misconduct allegations have surfaced, we have repeatedly fallen short of condemning Brendan Cox and Justin Forsyth in the strongest terms, nor have we held the former Chairman of the Board, Sir Alan Parker, to account, we demand more! We demand full public disclosure, accountability at the most senior levels of leadership, starting with the removal of Alan Parker as SCI board Chair and improved HR processes.

We stand in solidarity with our supporters who deserve more. We stand with the brave women who laid their careers on the line to report harassment, and with everyone who refused to let predatory behaviour pass with impunity.

A letter to our leaders

As current and former Save the Children staff members, we are appalled by the sexual misconduct of two former senior staff members, Justin Forsyth and Brendan Cox, and disappointed by the subsequent handling of the cases, both at the time of offence and during recent press coverage.

Save the Children’s reluctance to proactively denounce Brendan and Justin is not only morally reprehensible, but also endangers our global credibility and ultimately our ability to reach vulnerable children around the world. The time for action and leadership is now.

We will no longer silently accept the development of reactive statements, only to be used when the media unearths a scandal. The organisation’s immediate response to both the initial allegations and the more recent stories in the media has been too passive, focusing on protecting the brand and failing to put the wellbeing of the victims and the children we work for at its heart.

We want genuine consequences and accountability for those involved, complete transparency, proactive disclosure, and a thorough disciplinary procedure. The resolution to the complaints is unacceptable. Within a pronounced culture of fear, it is simply not enough to say “sorry”, and to claim due process was followed.

Since these recent allegations have surfaced, we have repeatedly fallen short of condemning Brendan and Justin in the strongest terms, nor have we held the former Chairman of the Board, Alan Parker, to account. This is a disservice to staff members and our supporters, and an injustice to the women who experienced harassment. We have already failed our staff and supporters once in our handling of the cases, and we are in the process of failing them again by not taking a stronger stance.

Alan Parker, as Chairman of the Board when these incidents took place, was ultimately accountable for both cases and his abuse of that power to dampen the situation is widely known. While he remains an integral part of the organisation as Chair of the SCI board, we do not believe that these incidents can truly be in the past. This is an issue that began with leadership, and must end with leadership.

As staff members, we demand more! We stand in solidarity with our supporters who deserve more. We stand with the brave women who laid their careers on the line to report harassment, and with everyone who refused to let predatory behaviour pass with impunity.

We need a system where people are properly held to account for their actions. It is not right that someone can be found to have repeatedly abused the trust placed in them, and yet leave their role with their reputation ostensibly intact, able to get another job in the sector without their actions being on public record in at least some form. Without this system, toxicity and misogyny will continue unabated across the sector.

We demand

· Proactive, full public disclosure, to retain and regain public trust;

· Accountability at the most senior levels of leadership, starting with the removal of Alan Parker as SCI board Chair

· HR processes that stop these perpetrators from taking senior positions within the sector

This letter is instigated by victims of this toxic working culture, and all those in solidarity with them. We want to see changes today and demand more.

Signed,

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