by Daniel Sanderson. The Times
Whistleblower claims LGBT Youth Scotland managers said if a person was using it as a ‘coping mechanism’ then ‘we can’t take that away from them’
A controversial LGBT youth charity trained volunteers to advise self-harming children to use “clean razor blades” instead of discouraging them from cutting themselves, a whistleblower has claimed.
LGBT Youth Scotland was reported to the Scottish charity regulator by someone who wanted to become a volunteer but was then given “shocking and callous” instructions around how to deal with young people who were intentionally injuring themselves.
It is alleged that managers said if a child was hurting themselves as a “coping mechanism”, then it would be wrong to “take that away from them” and instead they were told “we have to ask them if they are using clean razor blades”.
Whistleblower claims
The volunteer said that when they challenged the policy in October 2023 they were “dismissed” by managers who “didn’t see the issue” and defended self-harm as children “might not have any other ways of coping”.
The whistleblower said they believed the instructions could easily have been interpreted by vulnerable young people as “a sign of encouragement” to continue harming.
• Calls for LGBT youth charity to be banned from schools
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) which this month dropped an inquiry into LGBT Youth Scotland, said it had “engaged” with the charity as a result of the complaint around self-harm and that the organisation had “reviewed” its policies.
The “concern” raised about its stance on self-harm was among 13 disclosed to The Times after a freedom of information request.
The remainder criticised LGBT Youth Scotland, which receives more than £1 million per year in taxpayer funding and is active in hundreds of Scottish schools, for its stance in support of puberty blockers and promotion of gender ideology.