Scotlands shame in mass historic child abuse
Scotland’s shame: decades of neglect, abuse and suffering DAVID LEASK November 23 2007 from THE HERALD.UK ELIZABETH McWILLIAMS: Suffered abuse at Quarrier’s Village near Bridge of Weir Scotland yesterday set out its fullest public account of mass historic child abuse. An independent report for the Scottish Government gave an official voice to the men and women who, as children, were sexually, physically and emotionally tortured over nearly half a century.
Its author, Tom Shaw, found widespread systemic
failures in the nation’s confused and confusing
network of children’s homes and residential schools
run by the state, charities and churches.
In his recommendations, Mr Shaw said survivors of
abuse should get a national support centre alongside a
new nationwide task force to stand up for youngsters
currently in care.
The national task group, he said, would oversee all
such services in the future and try to stand up for
children who, he warned, are still "out of sight and
out of mind".
He said: "I’m deeply concerned about the possibility
of people who were not listened to as children not
being listened to as adults."
Their stories, he said, should be recorded in a
special centre for the victims of abuse in children’s
homes. He did his best in his own report, Historical
Abuse Systemic Review, and included first-hand
accounts of children’s experiences in homes.
The report was not the full-fledged public inquiry
campaigners had wanted. It was the idea of the old
Scottish Executive, through First Minister Jack
McConnell who officially apologised to victims of what
he called Scotland’s "national shame" in 2004. Mr
Shaw, appointed in 2005, was working to a tight remit,
focusing on the rules governing children in care
between 1950 and 1995. He acknowledged that his work
would not go far enough to satisfy campaigners, many
of whom gathered to hear his recommendations. His
report does not name individual abusers - or even the
institutions where abuse took place.
The Scottish Government welcomed the report yesterday,
without giving much away about future plans. Adam
Ingram, the Children’s Minister, said he was "in full
agreement of the principles of the findings and the
recommendations". The report was "far-reaching" and
"it is right that we give detailed and serious
consideration to the issues".
Mr Ingram has already announced an inquiry into
allegations - and convictions - for child abuse at
Kerelaw, the residential school and secure unit in
Ayrshire that sparked Scotland’s biggest child abuse
investigation before it closed in 2005.
Kerelaw, however, was just the latest in a succession
of abuse scandals in residential institutions for
children. The list has grown in recent years. It
includes: Larchgrove, a council-run children’s home in
Glasgow; Blairs College, a seminary in Aberdeen; St
Ninian’s, a school run by the De La Salle Brothers,
monks in Gartmore, Stirlingshire; and Nazareth House,
a chain of Catholic children’s homes.
Mr Shaw warned that serious problems still remain
within residential childcare, not least the low level
of training among care workers. He was unable even to
begin to measure the scale of abuse in Scottish care
homes. That would only emerge from a major judicial
investigation. At least one support group for
survivors believes that is exactly what Scotland needs
now.
David Whelan, of Former Boys and Girls Abused of
Quarriers Homes, said: "We are still pushing for a
full public inquiry, specifically into Quarriers. It’s
a special case."
Mr Whelan’s group represents 100 former residents of
the Quarriers village in Bridge of Weir. Some would
like to see the charity change its name. Others want
it to apologise.
Quarriers yesterday backed Mr Shaw’s recommendations.
Phil Robinson, its chief executive, said: "When
Quarriers provided evidence to the Scottish
parliamentary debate on historic abuse, we stated that
our position is that if any individual suffered abuse
at Quarriers then we apologise. This also led to the
public apology made by then First Minister Jack
McConnell to survivors of historic abuse".
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