Chapter 18 — Residential Laundries, Novitiates, Hostels and other settings

Witnesses

The number of witness reports of abuse in different residential facilities varied as follows: Five (5) residential facilities were the subject of two to five reports, totalling 16 reports. Ten (10) residential facilities were each the subject of single reports.

The most frequently reported abuse types were physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as follows: Fourteen (14) witnesses reported physical abuse. Fourteen (14) witnesses reported emotional abuse. Ten (10) witnesses reported sexual abuse. Eight (8) witnesses reported neglect.

Fourteen (14) witness reports referred to more than one type of abuse and to combinations of abuse, as shown in the following table:

Abuse types and combinations	Number of reports
Sexual	5
Physical, emotional and neglect	4
Physical	4
Emotional	3
Physical and sexual	2
Physical and emotional	2
Sexual and emotional	2
Neglect and emotional	2
Physical, sexual, neglect and emotional	1
Physical and neglect	1
Total	26

Twelve (12) witness reports were of single abuse types, either sexual, physical or emotional, and all other witnesses reported combinations of abuse types.

Physical abuse

The wilful, reckless or negligent infliction of physical injury on, or failure to prevent such injury to, the child.2 This section of the chapter presents evidence heard by the Committee regarding witnesses’ experience of being physically abused and the lack of protection from physical harm while in these residential settings. The nature of physical abuse reported included being beaten with implements, punched, kicked, and subjected to bodily assaults.

The Committee heard evidence from 14 witnesses of physical abuse they experienced in seven institutions. Three (3) institutions were the subject of multiple reports, totalling 10 reports. Four (4) institutions were each the subject of single reports.

Witnesses reported that factors precipitating physical abuse included attempts at resisting sexual abuse, disclosing abuse to parents, breaking the rule of silence, protecting co-residents from punishment, and general lack of control exercised by staff. Witnesses were beaten with sticks, hurleys, batons, keys and leather straps and stated that they were punched, kicked, forced to stand while taking meals, forced to kneel for long periods, locked out overnight, and having their hair cut off. The physical abuse occurred within different areas of the institutions’ buildings including refectories, dormitories, bathrooms, yards and workrooms.

Five (5) male witnesses from one institution reported being severely beaten in an out-of-control manner. Two (2) witnesses described severe and unpredictable beatings all over the body. One witness reported being ‘thrashed with a leather’, and another reported that ‘they beat the lard out of me’. That night I got beaten up by the new staff... (lay staff member)... that came on.... He dragged me out of the bed and he started beating with this baton and he was kinda saying “you better not escape out of here” and he start whipping me across the legs, dragging me out of the bed, pulled me around the floor. He banged the side of me teeth off the bed and ... (I)... got a few wallops across the face. I got a right beating. He kept beating me, I don’t know what kind of anger got into him, I couldn’t understand the anger that came into him.... One of the lads roared “leave him alone”.... I told ...lay ancillary worker ... the next morning, she asked me “what’s wrong?” I had a cut lip, me teeth was chipped, my tooth was loose.

Two (2) institutions were each the subject of two reports of physical abuse. One male witness described an incident of violence when his attempts to avoid sexual abuse were stopped by a ‘clattering around the face with open hands’ and having his head held in the toilet bowl.

Seven (7) female witness reports related to continuous hard physical work in residential laundries, which was generally unpaid. Two (2) witnesses said that the regime was ‘like a prison’, that doors were locked all the time and exercise was taken in an enclosed yard. Working conditions were harsh and included standing for long hours, constantly washing laundry in cold water, and using heavy irons for many hours. One witness described working hard, standing in silence and being made to stand for meals and kneel to beg forgiveness if she spoke. Another witness stated that she was punched and hit as a threat not to disclose details of her everyday life working in the laundry to her family. Three (3) witnesses gave the following accounts of physical abuse: Every morning we were up at 5 o’clock in the summer and 6 o’clock in the winter. We slaved all day.... They starved and worked us to death while they lived in luxury. The nuns were all very hard and nasty, they used to shave our hair off ...distressed... we had to suffer in silence. I hope no one has to suffer like us. We had nowhere to run or no one would believe you.... I often burned myself...(while working, ironing) ... but got no sympathy ...distressed.... One time I had a terrible arm, it didn’t heal up, I had burned it and the dye of the uniform ran into it, and that was the first time I saw a doctor.... • You couldn’t laugh or talk in there ’cos you were just battered. A nice nun in the convent talked to us, Sr ...X... got to hear about it and she just battered us, on the back of the hands, anywhere, and if she got the curtain rail that would go across you. It didn’t matter what she had in her hand. She was like a Hitler ...crying.... My whole childhood was gone in that place. • We were beaten regular, I have got a mark still on my back. Mth ...X... was the evil cow, and then there was the helpers that would hold you down while she was battering you and they would cut lumps ... out of your hair.... I was 11 ... years old. I was battered with a big belt both by the nun and helpers....

Three (3) male witnesses reported that they had sustained physical injuries as a result of assault. One witness stated that his hand was caught in a door as he attempted to escape being sexually abused. Two (2) witnesses from another institution were punched and severely beaten, sustaining injuries to their noses, faces and backs. One witness reported that the assault on him stopped when co-residents intervened to protect him.

Witnesses reported being physically abused by staff in the institutions and by older co-residents. It is possible that there is some overlap between those identified by name and those who were not named but identified by their role or function within the institution.

Three (3) religious staff, one male and two female, were named as perpetrators of physical abuse. Four religious staff, two male and two female, were not named but identified by witnesses as authority figures. One male lay care staff was identified by name and five other lay staff were identified by position, including a Resident Manager. The Committee heard two witness accounts of abuse by older co-residents one of whom commented that he believed the physical assault was instigated by the Resident Manager.

Sexual abuse

The use of the child by a person for sexual arousal or sexual gratification of that person or another person.3 This section presents the evidence of sexual abuse heard by the Committee from witnesses in residential training, work and other out-of-home facilities. The majority of reports were of contact sexual abuse, including rape and associated physical violence. Witnesses’ evidence described both single incidents of sexual abuse and chronic abuse over an extended period. Some witnesses provided detailed accounts of the abuse they experienced. Other accounts were limited to clarifying the acute or chronic nature of the abuse and whether it was contact or non-contact abuse.

Ten (10) witnesses, eight male and two female, made 10 reports of being sexually abused in eight residential settings. Five (5) reports from male witnesses relate to abuse in Noviciates and three others relate to aftercare hostels and other residential facilities. One female witness reported being abused in an institution where she was employed as a ‘live-in’ domestic worker and another gave an account of being abused over an extended period by an older co-resident in a laundry.