Abuse in Charity Shops

Available for over a year

Scores of charity shop workers have been investigated for sexually inappropriate behaviour in the workplace in the last 12 months, according to figures obtained by 5 live Investigates. The programme has also learned that convicted paedophiles have been allowed to work in shops because DBS checks haven't been done. The CEO of the organisation Whistleblowers UK says the charity industry is a magnet for people who are predatory. 'The charities sector...is seen as a nice place to be -lots of people who work there are volunteers doing good work. It's almost as if regulation for them is deemed unnecessary because of course everybody who works there would be nice. And yet those are the areas that attract people who are predatory. All of the evidence supports this. We've heard about inappropriate relationships between members of staff, between staff and volunteers and also volunteers raising concerns about the way staff have interacted with vulnerable children and teenagers.'.