SCOTLAND’s charities have been asked to consider at a senior level how they protect the people their staff and volunteers are supposed to be looking after.
The missive came from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) after it revealed it had dealt with 15 cases of alleged sexual misconduct within the sector in the past two years.
OSCR told The National: “All organisations need to develop policies and procedures that are fit for purpose. We wrote to all charities this week asking the trustees to discuss safeguarding at their next board meeting.”
The regulator said the cases it had handled – known as “notifiable events” – were “mostly historical”, and none had resulted in a formal inquiry.
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) was the only Scottish charity working internationally to have reported allegations, said OSCR.
Six of the notifiable events, said OSCR, were notifications that charities are involved in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and are being dealt with as part of that process.
The police were contacted at the appropriate stage in the remaining nine cases – including the two raised by Sciaf. Four had been concluded, with the remaining five at various stages.
Sciaf confirmed on Thursday that it had dealt with two cases of alleged sexual misconduct involving children.
One involved the alleged rape in 2012 of a 15-year-old girl by a 45-year-old Burundian man – volunteer for a local partner organisation. The other centred on an Ethiopian man who worked in the shared office of Sciaf and its sister UK and Irish aid charities Cafod and Trocaire in 2016, when he was accused of sexual misconduct with a boy aged under 16.
How charities deal with allegations of misconduct and abuse has come under scrutiny in the wake of the Oxfam scandal. It has been accused of concealing the findings of an inquiry into claims that staff used prostitutes while delivering aid in Haiti in 2011.
OSCR set up the notifiable events regime in April 2016 to enable charities to report serious incidents, which can range from fraud and significant financial losses to incidents of abuse or mistreatment of vulnerable beneficiaries.
The regulator’s chief executive, David Robb said: “Currently, there are over 24,000 Scottish charities and the intelligence we have is that the vast majority of them are doing fantastic work in line with charitable purposes and their legal responsibilities.
“Clearly, there have been reports of troubling incidents within certain organisations. Allegations of sexual misconduct are very serious, and we do not take them lightly. In these instances, we will always take the necessary regulatory action and work with every appropriate body to protect beneficiaries, volunteers and staff.
“There is nothing, however, to suggest that these instances are more common in charities than in other organisations.”
He added: “Abuses are always disappointing and some of the current allegations are particularly disturbing. We will continue to urge charity trustees to be vigilant and to take robust action when necessary.
“We will also deal firmly with any misconduct when required so that the public can continue to have confidence in charities and to support the important work that they do.”
In a statement posted on its website, Scottish charity Mary’s Meals said it had no reported incidents of misconduct involving children.
However, it dismissed a member of staff last year over an “inappropriate relationship” with an adult.
The statement said: “In 2017, we investigated one incidence of an inappropriate relationship between two consenting adults; a local male member of staff, from one of the countries in which we work, and a local woman.
“Although no crime was committed, no minors were involved, and the inappropriate behaviour did not occur while carrying out the charity’s activities, the staff member’s actions were in breach of our code of conduct, which sets high standards for all those involved in our mission.
“The staff member was dismissed promptly after the relationship was reported.”
Mary’s Meals said it has “robust safeguarding policies and procedures in operation to protect vulnerable people”.
OSCR’s revelations came as it was announced an independent commission was to be set up to investigate past and present allegations of sexual exploitation by staff at Oxfam.
The charity’s international executive director Winnie Byanyima said it would “do justice” and “atone for the past”.
She invited victims to come forward “for justice to be done”, saying she was “here for all the women who have been abused”.
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