The Red Cross, long under fire for numerous scandals—the missing millions of dollars intended for Ebola aid, total lack of transparency about where donations go, and deeply flawed relief efforts—has a very big new one on their hands thanks to the investigators at ProPublica.
In 2012 and 2013, serious allegations of sexual harassment and rape were made against senior officer Gerald Anderson, who then left the organization. But thanks to glowing recommendations, he was hired by global charity Save the Children, which was never informed of the allegations against him, allegations which were given, at best, a cursory consideration by the Red Cross. One was Camille Herland, a young woman who worked as an assistant to Anderson who pressured her for a romantic relationship with texts and emails. Her complaint was found to have merit, a Red Cross attorney admitted to her. The other allegation is even more disturbing.
The second woman, Eliza Paul, a program assistant who met him at an after-work happy hour, lodged even more serious allegations against Anderson. She told Red Cross officials she had woken up naked in his bed without knowing how she had gotten there and had gone to the hospital for a rape kit exam. […]
The Red Cross launched an internal investigation of the women’s allegations in 2012, but several staffers interviewed told ProPublica that officials seemed more concerned with protecting the institution than getting to the truth. Investigators did not interview multiple people who had been referred as witnesses. They asked few follow-up questions. They did not seek copies of Paul’s medical exam.
Anderson’s accusers were dismayed when a top Red Cross official praised Anderson in an October 2012 email announcing his departure. David Meltzer, then senior vice president for international services, wrote that he regretted to announce Anderson had “decided to make a change.” Meltzer said he was “grateful” to Anderson for his “leadership,” lauded him for “two decades of dedication and hard work in furthering the international mission of ARC,” and wished him well in his “future endeavors.” Meltzer and Anderson are personal friends, according to five people.
A few days later, at a staff meeting, Meltzer, who is now the Red Cross’ general counsel, went further. He said he was upset Anderson was leaving and that if it were up to him, Anderson would continue working at the Red Cross, according to three attendees. “It was flabbergasting. If you are a woman sitting in this room, and you have ever been harassed by Jerry Anderson, you’ve just heard from the VP that he does not believe you or support you,” said Amy Gaver, then an official at the Red Cross, who attended the meeting and knew about the allegations.
Save the Children not only wasn't informed of the reason for Anderson's departure from Red Cross, "the Red Cross gave him 'very positive references,' including from a senior official, Save the Children said." So the Red Cross investigated, found the allegations substantial enough to force him out, but made sure he landed on his feet at another global charity. The Red Cross told ProPublica that as a result of finding out that he was given this reference by, presumably, Meltzer "we are taking appropriate disciplinary action." They did not describe what that action would be. Meanwhile, Save the Children has been blindsided by the story. They didn't know about the charges against Anderson until contacted just last week by ProPublica. They've put Anderson on administrative leave while figuring out what to do about the situation, and say that as of yet haven't received complaints about him from their own staff.
The accounts from the women are heartbreakingly familiar now. "Herland didn’t report Anderson to Red Cross management because she feared she would lose her job. 'I was trying to live in D.C. with no savings account and student loans and I was getting these emails on my work account from my boss who was suggesting I was a slut and asking all these inappropriate questions.'" And as for Paul, she "decided not to report anything to her bosses at the Red Cross. “I just got this permanent job. I’m going to have this great career,” she recalled thinking. “I was positive that if I said anything the repercussions for me would be very great and for him it was non-existent.” She worried she wouldn’t be believed and regretted sending Anderson an email she thought could be used against her."
Anderson wasn't the only one who landed on his feet following the mess. Just eight days after Meltzer sent the email to staff telling them how wonderful he thought Anderson was and how horrible it was that he was leaving, Meltzer got a promotion, to general counsel of the entire organization. "In that position, which he still holds, he oversees the charity’s handling of misconduct cases and is directly responsible for the Red Cross’ Office of Investigations, Compliance & Ethics."
Chances are pretty good that this isn't going to be the last we hear of cover-ups by the Red Cross.