THE Scottish Youth Parliament has referred claims of sexual harassment among its would-be politicians to the police.
The charity last year investigated a claim that one of its young members sent an explicit photograph to a minor and sexually harassed others in the organisation.
After taking advice from child protection experts and consulting lawyers, the SYP concluded the allegations were false and the alleged culprit had “no case to answer”.
However after being contacted by the BuzzFeed News website about the matter on Tuesday, the SYP referred the matter to the police, but suggested the allegations were malicious.
It said it had contacted Police Scotland “given the seriousness of these allegations and our belief that this is a targeted campaign against SYP”.
Set up in 1999, the SYP is made up of around 150 young people aged between 14 and 25, and campaigns on child poverty, mental health and young people’s rights.
BuzzFeed News also reported that a group of MSYPs (members of the Scottish Youth Parliament) complained to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator as they felt complaints about bullying were not being taken seriously.
The watchdog concluded there were "some issues regarding the governance of the charity, in particular relating to breaches of the Code of Conduct, Disciplinary Procedures and the use of social media".
However, OSCR added: "When the charity trustees became aware of the issues ... they immediately began to take steps to address them.
“We therefore consider the actions of the charity trustees to be consistent with the general duties that they are subject to [under the law]."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police Scotland has been contacted by the Scottish Youth Parliament concerning possible inappropriate conduct by some of its members and former members. Inquiries are at a very early stage and it has not yet been established if anyone is reporting a crime."
They added: “The reporting and tackling of sexual harassment is a priority for Police Scotland, with all complaints received thoroughly investigated.
“Our Public Protection Unit has dedicated investigative teams who provide specialist support to victims and target offenders to bring them to justice.”
A spokesperson for the SYP said: "SYP wishes to make it clear that all allegations of harassment or inappropriate behaviour of any kind are taken very seriously, investigated thoroughly, and the appropriate action taken in line with our policies.
"We have robust child protection and disciplinary processes in place to ensure that the wellbeing of all the young people with whom we work is protected. Where deemed appropriate, and in line with these policies, relevant information would be passed on to external authorities such as the police or social services for further investigation."
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