Monica Mukerjee & Arnab Majumdar: #Aidtoo, Dignity at MSF

The Good Problem

In the aftermath of the #metoo movement, we saw the emergence of #aidtoo and the resulting exposure of harassment, abuse and discrimination in the development and humanitarian sector. While the reports are shocking to read, it’s no surprise – abuse, sexual misconduct, racism, and discrimination have been long prevalent in the sector, and we continue to see reports naming major agencies in scandals.

The rise of #aidtoo has resulted in long overdue attention on these issues, and the voices are only getting louder. The latest report to come out is by Decolonise MSF, an organic, unofficial anti-racism and anti-discrimination movement composed of more than 1200 current and former MSF staff, formed in response to decades of unanswered calls for change within the organisation.

The report, called Dignity at MSF, was a survivor led initiative to publicly assess and disclose findings on abuse and discrimination within MSF, and the first to involve MSF’s global and historical staff base, as well as community partners. On reading the report, it is damning: more than 50% of respondents witnessed or experienced one or more forms of abuse in a one year period.

I invited the report’s authors, Monica Mukerjee and Arnab Majumdar onto the podcast today to talk us through the report, their own experiences working in MSF and what it means to have publicly authored a report like this.