Personal accounts of care in Scotland depict severity of abuse
Nearly 80 adults with experience of the care system in Scotland have spoken out.
A summary of accounts of severe abuse and neglect experienced by some children while in care, facilitated by silence and poor responses to disclosure, has been published today.
The National Confidential Forum has published ‘What We Have Heard So Far’, which provides a powerful summary of the experiences of adults who have so far spoken to the Forum about their time in care as children.
While a small number of people talked about positive care experiences, the majority of the former care residents have described a range of dehumanising and cruel physical, sexual and emotional abuse: for example, being forced to parade around naked with soiled linen in response to bedwetting, having their hair cut off, visits being cancelled at the last minute, beatings, force-feeding and withholding food or sleep.
The anonymous testimonies suggest that abuse and neglect went unchallenged in some institutions due to a culture of bullying and silence fuelled by fear. When individuals as children did report abuse, they remember very little being done, being punished, moved to another institution or the abuser being believed over their account.
The Forum has published the summary to improve understanding and acknowledgement of what happened to some children while in care and to encourage more people to share their experience.
Examples of testimonies featured in the publication include:
“There was an absolute culture of ‘don’t tell’…I can easily see how the climate of secrecy and intimidation would have been the perfect environment for abuse.”
“She’d fill a bath with cold water and throw you in it, with the towel wrapped around your head, which I think is called water-boarding…and then pour buckets of water over your head.”
“I could tell no-one because he had the power…can’t say nothing. If you say something, you will be in trouble and they will send you to bed.”
“It was a systematic torture chamber…a systematic abuse…a way of life all the time, morning and night.”
“The first thing I remember about care was fear.”
“Staff did not show any love – it was almost a pride of having that power.”
Dr Rachel Happer is a clinical psychologist and is Head of the National Confidential Forum.
She said: “What we have heard so far indicates that a number of children were subjected to severe forms of abuse, neglect and degradation in care institutions that were meant to provide safety and protection.
"We heard repeatedly about children being too scared to speak up. With all forms of abuse, we must be alert to the response to disclosure. Silence can be our worst enemy.
“For some people, talking to the Forum is the first time they have been heard and sharing their experience broke a long-held silence.
"For those people who may still be silent, now is their chance to speak up. We offer a safe and supportive place to be heard.
“Our aim is to record these experiences as part of Scotland’s history, to learn from them and understand the profound and long-term impact of care and to continue making progress to create care environments where vulnerabilities are tackled and children are supported to reach their potential.”
‘What We Have Heard So Far’ is a summary account of the anonymous testimonies of 78 adults who have spoken to the Forum about their time in care when they were children. Fifty-nine people described experiences of abuse. The experiences are from as recently as five years ago, and up to 80 years ago. The Forum has published the account of personal experiences to give people a voice and to help improve understanding of the lasting impact of poor institutional care.