Upsetting findings include at least 63 claims of sexual abuse of deaf girls in Dublin
A distressing report published this week found that of the almost 2,400 allegations of historical abuse in religious-run day and boarding schools across Ireland, there was a “particularly high number of allegations in special schools”.
Almost 200 alleged abusers are claimed to have abused children across just 17 special schools in Ireland. More than a dozen clerics who did not work at special schools have been accused of sexually abusing children with additional needs. There are at least 63 allegations of sexual abuse of deaf girls at a school in Dublin.
In total, there are 528 allegations of sexual abuse at religious-run special schools in Ireland.
The Scoping Inquiry said this reflected the fact that “disabled children are more vulnerable to and are more likely to be sexually abused than able-bodied children”.
Analysis of records held by religious orders shows evidence that four alleged abusers were moved between special schools. The report said the reason a breakdown of special schools showed 194 alleged abusers instead of 190, was “because alleged abusers who moved between different schools are counted twice”.
The report also found similar evidence that alleged abusers had been moved between mainstream schools.
Of the 190 people alleged to have sexually abused children at special schools across the country, 74 were members of the religious order that ran their school. Another 49 were lay staff, 54 were peers and 13 alleged abusers were clerics “who were not members of the religious order”.
The report has warned that instances of historical child sex abuse in religious schools have likely been under-reported.
While the report said that half of the 884 people accused of sexual abuse at all 308 schools have died, the profile of the 190 people accused of abusing children at special schools showed that just 27pc are dead. The rest are either still living, or their status is “not known”.
The majority of allegations of abuse at special schools centre on three schools run by the Brothers of Charity, where 294 instances of abuse were alleged to have happened at the Holy Family School in Renmore, Galway; the Lota school in Glanmire, Cork; and St Mary’s school in Rochestown, Cork.
Today’s News In 90 Seconds – 5th September 2024
The religious order warned the Scoping Inquiry that its record-keeping could not separate physical abuse and sexual abuse. While the Brothers of Charity said it was “likely” that most cases related to sexual abuse, it was possible that some allegations were of physical, non-sexual abuse.
The Hospitaller Order of St John of God originally told the Scoping Inquiry it was aware of 124 allegations of sexual abuse at seven of its special schools. But after investigating further, the inquiry found evidence of another 20 sexual abuse allegations at special schools run by the same order.
The Congregation of Dominican Sisters Cabra faces 63 allegations of abuse at its school for deaf girls in Cabra and one allegation at its Benincasa Special School in Blackrock.
The Scoping Inquiry contacted over 70 religious orders in Ireland, in an extensive search for records of sexual abuse. In one case, the inquiry got no response from the religious order the Norbertines because it no longer exists in Ireland. But a trawl of garda files confirmed a priest associated with the school was convicted for sexual abuse and gardaí had a record of three allegations of historical sexual abuse at the same school.
The inquiry found that only allegations of sexual abuse reported after 2003 were available through a search of the garda Pulse system.
Over 30 of the 72 religious congregations contacted claimed that they had “no record of any allegations of sexual abuse” at their schools. But the Scoping Inquiry would later discover historical sexual abuse allegations against a “small number” of those same orders.
Other allegations also emerged against schools that other religious orders had not included in their records of sexual abuse allegations. And while the Sisters of Mercy did provide the total number of sexual abuse allegations in its records, it did not give the names of the schools where abuse is alleged to have happened. The De La Salle Order did not provide the names of its schools where abuse was alleged to have happened until June of this year, shortly before the report was finished.
Most of the child sex abuse survivors who spoke to the inquiry about their experience of trying to make a complaint said talking to the religious orders “had been disappointing, frustrating and in some cases retraumatising”.
Survivors described being confused, belittled, dismissed or stonewalled by religious orders. Many told of intimidating warnings from orders and their solicitors that the survivors could face financial ruin if they tried to take the religious order to court. Some survivors described struggling to find solicitors who would take on their case, citing the fear of the resources the religious orders had to fight in court.
One survivor described how he was given a “one-page letter telling me that they would pray for me”, with the name of a garda on it. One man was told by a representative for a religious order to “consider whether I’d be able to get employment at a good company, and if going public could impact my exam results from the stress of it”.
“He said it would impact my father’s standing in the community if it became public knowledge,” the survivor said. “So, they won. I had planned to go to the guards after I spoke to the priest. And I didn’t. I was coerced into silence. That is front and centre to me.”
One head of a religious order showed up at a survivor’s mother’s house, to ask that they not be sued. Another tactic reported by survivors was religious orders claiming they had no record of abuse, and convincing survivors to settle by persuading them that they were the only person to allege such abuse. It would later emerge that the same orders had settled a number of cases.
Other orders were accused of lying, claiming key documents had been lost or destroyed when they were not.
The majority of survivors who spoke to the inquiry about their experience of civil and criminal cases in the legal system had a negative experience, with many citing the delaying tactics of religious order’s legal teams. One survivor has been waiting eight years for their trial. Another described his civil action as a “four-year process that nearly killed me because of the stress”.
One survivor described what it was like watching his friend take on a religious order in court: “I watched a friend in court, what he went through; they destroyed him for three days. He never deserved what they put him through.”
Helplines: If you have been affected by the contents of this article, the organisation One in Four provides services to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. One in Four can be contacted by calling 01 662 4070 or by completing the form at www.oneinfour.ie/contact