The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry calls out for Travellers abused in care to come forward
“We are keen to hear from anyone from the Travelling Community who experienced abuse whilst in care,” says Julie-Anne Jamieson, Secretary to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
Were you a child in care or child whose care was arranged in Scotland?
Were you abused in care?
If the answer to these questions is “yes”, then we want to hear from you.
What is the Inquiry about?
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is an independent Inquiry looking at the nature and extent of abuse of children in care in Scotland, chaired by senior Scottish judge, Rt Hon Lady Smith. Our work includes looking at whether organisations which were legally responsible for children in care failed in their duties, whether any failures have been corrected and whether changes to the law, policies or procedures are still needed. The Inquiry is also creating a national public record of abuse.
The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference enables us to investigate the abuse of children in residential care in Scotland, or children whose care was arranged in Scotland, any time within living memory of anyone who suffered such abuse, up to December 2014.
We are interested in hearing about different types of abuse - mainly physical abuse and sexual abuse, with associated psychological and emotional abuse. We also have the discretion to look at other types of abuse. We will also investigate the impact of such abuse on individuals and their families.
Progress of the Inquiry
Since beginning our work on 1 October 2015, the Inquiry has been taking evidence at private sessions across the UK from individuals who have suffered abuse. Evidence is also being gathered from anyone who has useful information to share with the Inquiry.
Public hearings into three large voluntary organisations- Quarriers, Aberlour and Barnardo’s started on 23 October 2018. Lady Smith recently published her findings into residential institutions run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul (DoC) and these can be read on our website
Findings will be published following other case studies.
Contact us
We are keen to hear from anyone from the Travelling Community who experienced abuse whilst in care.
We know that it can be daunting to engage with an Inquiry such as this. The Inquiry’s witness support team help anyone providing evidence to the Inquiry and can answer any questions. This expertly trained team is here to provide support throughout every witness’s engagement with the Inquiry so that they can feel safe.
The witness support team can be contacted:
By telephone at: 0800 0929 300
By email to: talktous@childabuseinquiry.scot
By post to: PO BOX 24085, Edinburgh, EH7 9EA
Further information can be found on our website at www.childabuseinquiry.scot.
By Julie-Anne Jamieson, Secretary to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry