"A senior adviser for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women is under investigation for sexual misconduct. The U.N. has 'a job of work to do' to reform its culture and restore trust, a U.N. spokesperson said.
At least eight men have accused Ravi Karkara, senior adviser to a former U.N. assistant secretary-general, of using his prestige and position to sexually harass them, five sources with knowledge of the investigation told Newsweek...
Mandy Sanghera and Kerry Gibson, international human rights activists and U.N. Women Planet 50-50 Champions, told Newsweek the subject of the investigation is Karkara, who is currently on leave from U.N. Women...
Sanghera, Gibson and an alleged victim, Steve Lee, said the sexual misconduct accusations against Karkara include touching or grabbing a subordinate's genitals in a hotel room, using work devices to send pornography and follow-up questions to male subordinates, creating a climate of sexual innuendo and obscene gestures in the workplace, and using his position and access as leverage to initiate sexual encounters. They said Karkara is also accused of nonsexual harassment and abuse of power for his conduct with subordinates in and out of the workplace...
Gibson,... said the 'patriarchal and hierarchical' nature of the United Nations makes it ripe for misconduct by the powerful.
'There's an entire culture within the United Nations that allowed this to happen,' Gibson said. 'This is an elitist organization that was very hush-hush about everything on the pretense of protecting the greater entity. That allowed for many scandalous behaviors to occur.'..."