​Regulator says abuse cases were reported to Police Scotland

Scotland’s charity regulator has revealed 13 cases of sexual misconduct were reported in the last two years.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) called the allegations “notable events” and said details had been passed to Police Scotland.

Earlier this week it emerged the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) had dealt with two cases of sexual misconductby its representatives abroad.

Judith Turbyne, OSCR’s head of engagement, said the regulator had only found out about the two allegations of abuse this week.

Turbyne reassured Sciaf is the only Scottish charity working internationally to be linked to the sexual misconduct allegations.

She said: "We have a very small number of reports but not from international charities.

“The only one we have from an international charity is from Sciaf at the moment.

“There is a very small number of those which are mostly historical. There is nothing very nefarious that will hit the public eye.

“If we get a notifiable event we will open an inquiry if an inquiry needs to be opened in the way the charity commission has done with Oxfam at the moment.

“We have none open at the moment with those cases.”

The regulator places emphasis on Scottish charities to be completely honest said Turbyne.

“You have got to make sure you are dealing with a situation and being transparent and eventually that comes through in your accounts and reports and how you tell your beneficiaries,” she said.

“But you have to deal with it in as sensitive a way as possible at the time.

“It's about integrity and that is what we need from our charities.”

Meanwhile, an independent commission is to be set up to investigate past and present allegations of sexual exploitation by staff at Oxfam.

It comes as Oxfam announced it will include doubling the budget for the charity’s safeguarding team, setting up a global database of accredited referees to ensure sex offenders cannot re-offend at other charities, and improving the organisation's whistleblowing mechanism.