Chapter 13 — Special needs schools and residential services

Emotional abuse

Any other act or omission towards the child which results, or could reasonably be expected to result, in serious impairment of the physical or mental health or development of the child or serious adverse effects on his or her behaviour or welfare.8 This section describes witness evidence of emotional abuse by deprivation of affection, family contact and approval, loss of identity, and a lack of safety and protection. It refers to both what was done by religious and lay staff and others who had responsibility for the residents in their care and what they failed to provide. These deprivations impaired the social, emotional, physical functioning and development of witnesses and were identified by them as generally disturbing both at the time and in the subsequent course of their lives.

The Committee heard 24 reports of emotional abuse by 11 male and 13 female witnesses in relation to 10 special needs facilities. Fourteen (14) of the reports referred to witnesses’ experiences in services for children with sensory impairments. Six (6) facilities were the subject of between two and seven reports, totalling 20 reports. Four (4) facilities were each the subject of single reports.

Emotional abuse described by witnesses included deprivation of family contact, social isolation and humiliation, lack of affection, personal ridicule, constant criticism, bullying, fear and threats of harm. I can only think of years of abuse and torture and being a punch bag and crying.... Lonely and crying in bed most of the time and being scared and not being able to tell anyone. • To begin with, I was more or less bullied ... (by)... older lads ... often times they used do it for money. ... We used to go out and do work experience ... anytime I’d get paid for it they’d want the money off you ... I tried to say I didn’t have it, or something. ... They used to call me all sorts of names. ... I thought at first I’d avoid them, but every time I went to go off somewhere they’d follow me. ... They went on to kick the back of my heels, pushing me down the stairs, stick my head underwater and stuff.

The most consistently reported form of emotional abuse by the witnesses with special needs was of being denigrated, humiliated and disparaged about their appearance, mannerisms and intelligence. They reported being called names and made the subject of derogatory comments by certain staff, some of whom encouraged co-residents to jeer at their behaviour. Witnesses said their weakness and distress was subject to particular derision and they were further humiliated when they cried or demonstrated distress. They treated me like a dog, I couldn’t read and I couldn’t speak, the ...religious staff... called me names, terrible, they beat me up with a leather.

A reported consequence of the loss of family contact in the process of being institutionalised was loss of identity. Twelve (12) of the 58 witnesses reporting abuse in special needs schools had little or no information about their birth or family, and had no contact with family members after their admission. Three (3) witnesses had no information at all about their family of origin, and all they knew about themselves was their name. I suppose some of it was my fault really, I was looking for my mother, there was no answers... I heard girls talking about their Mammies and I had nobody to come up to see me, nobody. I knew nothing... (about family)... so I took these fits of tempers, I was a handful.

In general, witnesses reported that family contact was restricted to the routine Christmas, Easter and summer school holidays. Witnesses who were admitted to special needs services from home gave accounts of being deprived of contact with their families after their admission and of family visits being denied as punishment for alleged misbehaviour. Several witnesses commented on the fact that their homes were long distances from the schools and as a result their families were unable to visit. They reported that all other contact, apart from going home for holidays, was confined to letter writing, which had particular limitations for residents with sight and learning impairments. Witnesses reported that their letters were dictated and strictly controlled. ‘We were not allowed to ask for anything or to say anything about our daily life there.’

Witnesses commented on the absence of any demonstration of verbal and physical affection towards them by staff. For those witnesses admitted at a young age from family homes where they had experienced warmth and affection this deprivation had a particularly disturbing impact. Witnesses with sensory impairments found being ‘sent to Coventry’ particularly distressing. They described not being spoken to by staff and co-residents, and being isolated in rooms.

Many deaf witnesses described how distressing it was to be denied the use of sign language, which was their only means of communication. Sign language was also the accepted manner in which many witnesses communicated with their family. Loss of contact with family members was accentuated for some witnesses as a result of their parents being told by staff in some schools not to use sign language during holidays. Deaf witnesses who were compelled to communicate verbally reported being socially isolated as a result of the difficulty they experienced with this process. Witnesses reported that loneliness and isolation were further exacerbated by restrictions on communication and the reported disapproval of friendships between residents.

Witnesses with sensory impairments described their extreme fear and distress when they were locked in rooms as punishment. One witness described the terror experienced when locked in an outhouse with animals, another of being left overnight in a washroom without any bedding as punishment for bed-wetting or other alleged misdemeanours. I was locked in the washroom overnight. ......( named religious staff member)... would walk out and close the door, you’d have your ...night clothes... on and you could stand at your basin and do what you liked but you had to stay there, no blankets, mattress, sleep on the bare floor. We used to get together in a corner and try to keep each other warm, it was scary, you’d hope that nothing would happen, you could also be there on your own. ... You could be there for more than a few nights in a row, freezing cold.

Witnesses who were sexually abused described the pervasive fear associated with constant vigilance in anticipation of the next episode of abuse. Other witnesses with learning disabilities reported being terrified of making mistakes and that learning was stifled by the fear of physical punishment and humiliation.

Eight (8) witnesses reported being sexually abused by staff members who also subjected them to severe physical abuse. They reported being intimidated by staff as a warning against disclosure, they lived in fear of certain staff members who abused them on a regular basis, reinforcing silence by threats of further abuse.

In addition to the reports of abuse by staff and other adults, there were 33 reports of physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse by co-residents. Witnesses generally described abuse involving co-residents as occurring either in the company of other residents, described as ‘gangs’, or in open places where it was believed others could observe what was happening. Inadequate supervision exposed vulnerable residents to bullying and abuse and created fearful situations that many witnesses reported being forced to endure.

Four (4) witnesses gave accounts of their lives being threatened by groups of co-residents who bullied them. One witness reported to a staff member that he was being sexually abused and bullied by a group of co-residents, which resulted in further abuse from his co-residents. He reported that they held him over a stairwell and threatened to drop him the next time he told anyone that he was being abused. He was further threatened that his younger sibling would be punished in the same way. Another witness reported being threatened that he would be pushed from a height if he disclosed physical abuse and bullying by co-residents. They ... (older co-residents)... brought me up to the top of ... in the grounds and held my hands behind my back and pushed me over to look down off it, I thought they were going to push me down off it, lucky enough someone was passing by and they saw what was happening and they stopped, when the fellas saw who was there they ran away.

Several witnesses described the distress they experienced as a result of hearing and seeing co-residents being beaten and humiliated. The sound of other children being beaten was reported to be particularly distressing in addition to the pervasive fear generated in an environment where, as the following witnesses described, there was a constant threat of being hurt: You see a lot of the trouble for me was listening to fellas getting beaten, listening to fellas being flogged. I remember a fella who used to shake himself and shake his hands and things like that, he was quite bad at it. This Br ...(X)... got an idea into his head that he would stop this fella from doing these things. Every time he saw him doing it he’d slap him, he’d stop him by hitting him. Eventually he stopped...shaking... during the day, he’d wag in the bed at night and the bed was a noisy springy bed. This Brother would beat him in bed at night. ... That chap became a bed-wetter after that happened. The bed-wetters, I’d hear the screams, it would give me a dry retch even though I had nothing in my stomach, it used to affect me very badly. • He... (lay teacher)... beat them ...(co-residents)... around the room like cattle, they would be crashing into desks and he would say “would you mind my lovely furniture”. It was very bad listening to it. I couldn’t learn, you couldn’t learn in the atmosphere of violence ... if you didn’t give an answer you‘d get battered.

Knowledge of abuse

Witnesses believed that much abuse was reported at the time and that staff and residents were aware of it or had observed it, and people outside the institution were also told about it. Witnesses also observed the abuse of their co-residents. Witnesses reported that disclosures of abuse were at times investigated with positive results. Other witnesses stated they were either ignored or punished.