An interim report into the risk of sexual exploitation in the Australian aid sector has found there are “clear risk factors for sexual misconduct” but that Australian aid programs have strong safeguards and protection measures already built in.

The aid sector internationally has been rocked by a series of scandals and revelations of long-running sexual exploitation of children and vulnerable people, most notably allegations that Oxfam GB covered up an inquiry into sexual exploitation and abuse by its staff in Haiti during a post-earthquake relief effort in that country in 2011.

In a series of interviews with the Guardian, aid workers reported a spectrum of behaviour across the sector running from transactional sexual relationships with “temporary” girlfriends and the use of sex workers to the exploitation of women seeking refugee status and – at the most serious end – to individuals seeking humanitarian roles as an opportunity to abuse.

In response, the UK international development committee on sexual exploitation in the aid sector found sexual exploitation and abuse was “endemic” across aid organisations, and a collective failure of leadership had failed to address the issues.

The Australian interim report, released in the lead-up to a more-detailed final document in October, was prepared by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and sets out “sector-wide factors” which may contribute to sexual misconduct.

“There are some clear risk factors for sexual misconduct that relate to frequent staff rotations, project-based work, and proximity to large populations of vulnerable people in desperate situations,” said the VIFM review’s project manager, Dr Maaike Moller.

Moller said Australia was regarded as a leader internationally in applying child protection measures, including the Australian Council for International Development code of conduct and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s child protection policy.

“Our overarching impression is that there is no evidence that Australia has more problems with sexual misconduct than any other country,” the interim report said. “In some areas it seems that Australia has a number of specific strengths in safeguarding in comparison to other countries.”

A senior foreign affairs department official told the report: “There are risk issues that can affect the quality of Australia’s aid program and our national reputation in this field.”

Australia was one of the members of the development assistance committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which issued a statement last month promising to “protect affected populations, our own staff, and volunteers from sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment”.

The chief executive of the Australian Council for International Development, Marc Purcell, said the review would scrutinise the framework aid organisations had in place to prevent sexual misconduct “and enable us to identify gaps and weaknesses”.

“Unlike the UK, we have had a code of conduct for our members for over 20 years. Working as part of Australia’s official aid program with Dfat also requires strict accreditation for NGOs and layers of safeguarding, including mandatory reporting of children at risk. How these measures translate into practice and whether they are matched with organisational capability and culture, we think, will be the crux of this review.”

In the next phase of the review the VIFM will hold face-to-face interviews with aid sector staff and focus groups. The organisation will collect data through surveys and undertake a field trip to the Pacific.

