Anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism are prevalent at Save the Children UK (SCUK), according to independent reviews of the charity’s working culture.
SCUK had enabled anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism to persist, a report published this week by consultancy Global HPO says, with some staff afraid of participating in certain events and of speaking out.
The report found that there was a persistence of anti-Muslim and antisemitic slurs at SCUK, which had caused staff to leave the charity.
As part of two reviews conducted for the report, staff also voiced concerns that there was a lack of leadership in handling these matters.
SCUK chief executive Moazzam Malik said he was “sorry that colleagues have experienced any form of hatred” and that the charity has accepted all the report’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, SCUK has confirmed that a campaigns manager who posted a TikTok video asking for recommendations of bagel shops that were “actively pro-Palestinians” and “known to not be in support of that hell-hole place and Zionism” no longer works for the charity.
Malik said the employee’s comments, which led to her being put on leave while the charity conducted an internal investigation, “in no way reflected the views of Save the Children”.
Charity ‘does not know how to learn’
The report, commissioned by SCUK, was based on two separate reviews with 89 of the charity’s staff and is part of the charity’s wider effort to address diversity and inclusion.
In particular, the reviews focused on the experiences of Muslim and Jewish employees who attended a series of staff events in November and December 2023.
It found that there was no code or universally understood framework for “respect and dignity” at the charity, and senior leaders, in particular, were unable to deal with offensive behaviour.
“The organisation does not know how to learn, and the DEI programme is not developed well enough to even begin to tackle the issues,” it states.
SCUK has a diversity and inclusion strategy called Free to Be Me, which the report recommends should be updated to clarify “what is acceptable behaviour in the workplace”.
“Free to Be Me is meaningless in an environment that excludes and disrespects members of its community,” it says.
The report also recommends that SCUK should create spaces to learn and discuss issues, set clear boundaries on what staff can and can’t say and carry out such initiatives in a proactive way rather than reactive.
CEO: ‘We are deeply sad and sorry’
Moazzam Malik, chief executive of the charity, said: “In August 2024, Save the Children UK commissioned a report on anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism in response to feedback from colleagues following internal meetings stemming from the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“We are deeply sad and sorry that colleagues have experienced any form of hatred – whether anti-Muslim hate, antisemitism or other - in the workplace.
“We recognise the personal and professional impact on individuals - Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none.
“All colleagues – Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none - should feel valued and respected and able to offer their best with confidence and safety.
“We are utterly committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, including anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism.
“We accept all the recommendations of the report and have set out our responses to all 20 recommendations to address anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism as well as our wider approach to diversity and inclusion.
“In taking forward the action plan, we will liaise closely with staff and our board and review progress annually.”
Earlier this year, SCUK announced it was considering making 197 staff redundancies in an effort to save £6m from its annual wage bill.
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