Chapter 9 — Record of abuse (female witnesses)

Neglect

The quality of bedding provision was reported as poor by 185 witnesses, the majority of whom emphasised being cold in bed. These reports were in relation to 31 Schools across the decades. Poor bedding also referred to lumpy mattresses, insufficient blankets, sheets changed infrequently, mattresses and bedding smelling of urine and no provision made for seasonal variations in temperature. Rubber sheets were reported to be used in place of a cotton sheet in some Schools for residents who wet their beds and were described as being cold and uncomfortable to sleep on. There were reports from three Schools of all residents having to sleep on rubber sheets. Others had to carry their wet cotton sheets all day and sleep on them that night.

Witnesses from a small number of Schools reported having to share their bed with either a sibling or a younger co-resident. For some witnesses there was a comfort in this arrangement; for others it was regarded as unpleasant especially in the context of bed-wetting. We slept 2 to a bed. I would be up all night clapping the sheet, trying to dry the sheet to avoid a beating for my sister and blowing on it. I never had my own bed. Later I shared a bed with another girl.

One hundred and thirty eight (138) witnesses reported that when they were ill or injured their healthcare was neglected and necessary treatment was not provided. Forty nine (49) witnesses reported being punished, not believed or ignored when ill. Witnesses stated: ‘I got better by myself’ and ‘The nuns always thought we were pretending or were looking for notice, it was a crime to be sick’.

A large number of witnesses reported that ‘no heed was taken unless you were very ill’ and gave accounts of being hospitalised with infections, appendicitis, ulcers secondary to chilblains, rickets, anaemia, and failure to thrive. Ten (10) witnesses reported suffering with severe headaches and episodes of fainting that were ignored by staff. Sixteen (16) others reported having recurrent earaches that were untreated, resulting in infections and perforated eardrums. Six (6) witnesses reported they suffered permanent hearing loss.

A further area of healthcare neglect reported to the Committee by witnesses in the period prior to the 1980s was the lack of investigation by medical and nursing staff who observed or were involved in treating non-accidental injuries in the School, local clinics or hospital settings. Eighteen (18) witnesses reported being attended by a doctor in the School for treatment of an injury, including suturing following assaults, and they were neither questioned about how the injury occurred nor was any intervention made to protect them from further abuse.

A small number of witnesses reported that medical advice was not acted upon and that prescribed medical treatment was discontinued in the School. One witness stated that she was hospitalised with tuberculosis while resident in a School. At her hearing, she provided copies of her medical discharge reports containing specific recommendations to the Resident Manager. The medical report advised that she should be moved to a more protective environment and receive better nourishment; she said that neither recommendation was followed.

The availability of staff to assist and supervise children who were ill was reported to vary over the decades and between different Schools. Twenty six (26) witnesses said that they were put in the dormitories, left alone and unattended while they were sick. In a number of instances witnesses reported being locked into dormitories and infirmaries during the day while they were ill.

One hundred and fifty two (152) witnesses reported attending hospital for treatment, a number of whom were admitted for reasons including childhood accidents and illness such as fevers, tonsillitis, ear infections and lacerations. As previously reported, 33 residents were admitted for injuries following physical abuse. I went to hospital ...(with a broken wrist following beating).... I had to walk to the hospital, it was 3 quarters of an hour to walk, another girl came with me.

Two (2) witnesses reported they developed osteomyelitis, which they believed was due to the delay in receiving medical attention when they were first symptomatic. In one of these instances the witness reported that the hospital surgeon who saw her as an adult commented on the contribution of avoidable delay to the final outcome of the osteomyelitis in her foot and the need then for surgery. Another witness reported she had part of her hand amputated following an accident with a bread-slicing machine in the School kitchen.

A number of witnesses reported that improvements in health care provision depended on changes of staff and the attitude of the Resident Manager: ‘I was looked after in a kind, loving way if I was sick until I was 12 and then with a change ...(of Resident Manager)... it all changed’.

An additional form of neglect reported by witnesses was the failure to provide medical records to them when they were discharged. Twenty two (22) witnesses reported that the absence of any information on their medical history has been a significant problem in adult life. A number of witnesses reported that their medical care was compromised by this lack of information and led subsequently to an avoidance of doctors and medical treatment, as they did not wish it to be known that they were reared in an institution.

Preparation for puberty was specifically reported by 36 witnesses as an area of neglect through misinformation, lack of education and discussion of all sexual matters. The onset of menstruation was described as a particularly distressing experience for many female witnesses due both to their own lack of understanding about what was happening and the response of staff to their circumstances. Witnesses reported that adolescent development and menstruation were not discussed and that in many instances their attempts to seek advice and reassurance were harshly sanctioned. Witnesses reported feeling that normal bodily changes were faults of some kind. A witness reported that when she started to menstruate, she was sent for by the Resident Manager who gave her a lecture about being dirty, calling her a ‘filthy devil’. There was absolutely no sanitary facilities for a girl at a certain time of your life, you had to make do yourself. We got no advice at all, we learned from older girls.... We used talk among ourselves. When it ...(menstruation)... first happened to me I hadn’t the courage to go up and ask, we were very much afraid to ask ...(for sanitary protection).... • After I had my period the nuns kept telling me “you can now have a baby if a man touches your hair”. So when this foster father began touching my hair I thought I was pregnant.

In addition to the distress associated with menstruation in these circumstances witnesses reported being humiliated and abused in response to any appearance of physical development. They reported feeling embarrassed and ashamed of their breast development. Witnesses reported that an aspect of the neglect experienced in this regard was being forced to wear inappropriate garments for the purpose of concealing normal physical development. When we started to grow breasts, we couldn’t ask the nuns anything, you weren’t allowed grow breasts, I was told my breasts were ugly. ... I was friendly with an outside girl and she gave me a black bra, you know ... brassiere, we were not allowed wear them. Well she, Sr ...X... caught me and she threw me into a room and she beat me black and blue. We were not allowed wear them you know. • I was obviously growing up by now and I had quite big breasts. Sr ...X... would come up to me get hold of my breasts and squash them as hard as she could, she would then order me to “flatten them down and stop encouraging” it ... “flatten them down, flatten them”. She would scream at me. So I would just try and hold myself in ’til she left me alone. ... Then one day she got hold of me and told me she had got me a “roll on”, I thought I was going to get some nylons ...(stockings)... and felt very grown up. She said “this will help to keep you in”. ... When I put it ...(corset)... on she made me haul it up over my breasts to flatten them down, I could hardly breathe and I had to wear this over my breasts for months.

Witnesses reported having little or no knowledge of intimate relationships and being misinformed about basic details regarding sexual matters. Some witnesses, including three who stated they were unable to read, described being handed a book on the facts of life when they were discharged. Others reported receiving minimal education in relation to sexual matters during the 1970s and 1980s. Witnesses frequently stated that they received no sex education and that sexual matters were never discussed by the staff. The absence of open discussion and information and the culture of silence, fear and denial that witnesses described regarding sexual matters in the Schools were reported to have contributed to neglect and abuse on several levels. A witness who was discharged after 16 years in the School, without any preparation for outside life or relationships with men, reported being raped and abandoned on her first date. Other witnesses said: ‘the facts of life were never discussed, I knew it ... (sexual abuse)... was wrong but we had no language to tell’. We didn’t know anything about getting a period. There was nothing about a period only, “if you sit beside a man you get pregnant”. I remember getting a period, I thought something was wrong with me. I didn’t tell anyone because I was afraid, I thought “I’ll get into trouble”. There was no one to tell. • We had no sex education, the only sex education we had was about 10 minutes, from the priest. He did a thing on the blackboard to the whole class.

Witnesses reported that with little or no preparation for independent living their discharge from the Schools and transition to life outside the institution was traumatic and, for some, overwhelming. Areas of neglect most frequently reported by female witnesses in relation to their discharge were: Lack of preparation and training in basic life skills Lack of assessment, supervision and follow-up of placements Lack of opportunity to say goodbye to siblings and friends Lack of personal information and related documentation.