Chapter 9 — Record of abuse (female witnesses)

Reported abusers

Two (2) men employed as tradesmen and general handymen in the institutions were reported to have been physically abusive, one of whom was reported to have assisted a religious Sister, at her request, to beat a witness.

Witnesses reported that in a small number of Schools there was pervasive bullying and in many instances it was stated that bullying occurred with the knowledge and awareness of staff. Fifty three (53) witnesses reported being beaten or otherwise physically abused by co-residents, 23 of whom were identified by name. There were another 30 reports heard by the Committee of physical abuse by older co-residents who were not identified by name. Two girls ...(co-residents)... hit me with a broom and cut my eye, I’ve got scars to prove it.... I thought they were going to kill me. I went to the hospital, I remember the doctor, Dr ...X.... He asked me what had happened but I was too scared to tell him in case I’d get beaten again, I told him I fell because you’d be scared. I had stitches ...(displayed mark to Commissioners).... No one ever said anything about it, the nuns were never there.... I mean I was covered in blood and my sister asked me what happened, my sister took me to the hospital. • An older girl ...(named co-resident)... she made my life hell ...crying.... She got the sweeping brush one day, she brought me up to where the turf was and she said “I am going to beat you until you tell me you are afraid of me”. Oh, she used beat me so much. She’d say “you get me bacon, eggs and sausage” and she knew well I could never get that ...crying.... I used get into the little hole, you know where the chickens get in, at least I would have eggs for her ...crying.... I was so afraid, she was cruel.

Witnesses reported that older residents were supported by the staff to maintain discipline and that they were also involved in administering punishment. In the absence of staff supervision in some Schools older girls were described as having the task of caring for co-residents in the dormitories and recreation areas. Many of the beatings by co-residents reported by witnesses were in the context of older girls being left in charge of babies and young children whom they physically punished for bed-wetting and various perceived misdemeanours. Older girls were also reported to be involved in beating younger residents while working alongside ancillary care workers.

Witnesses also reported being physically abused by individuals who were neither staff nor co-residents while in holiday or weekend placements. It was a commonly reported practice in a number of Schools that the Resident Manager or those in charge made arrangements for some residents to spend holidays with or work for local families. The Committee heard three accounts of witnesses who were hit or beaten when on weekend or holiday leave with such families. The families we were sent out to, the first one, her husband was a nice man. One time she was hitting me and her husband said “you can’t be doing that”. ... I remember my time there being very, very unhappy, every time I was due to go I would always be sick. From the time we would arrive there she would talk to Sr ...X.... When she ...(Sr X)... would be gone she ...(the ‘foster’/‘holiday’ mother)... would hide my sister and tell me she was gone, I was 6 or 7, even younger than that. I used to feel sick and start getting sick, then she would let my sister out and she would tell me it was only a joke. One time I got sick and left a bit of vomit on my hair, she clattered ...(hit)... me for that.

Two (2) other witnesses reported being beaten by employers in work placements, the witnesses had been placed there during the school holidays. In each instance the witnesses reported being hit as a reprimand for unsatisfactory work.

Sexual abuse

The use of the child by a person for sexual arousal or sexual gratification of that person or another person.6 This section summarises the evidence provided by witnesses of being sexually abused for the gratification of others while a resident of the Schools. The reported abuse ranged from contact sexual abuse, including vaginal and anal rape, to non-contact abuse such as enforced nakedness and voyeurism. Recounting sexual abuse to the Committee was described as a difficult experience for witnesses, who spoke in as much or as little detail as they wished when describing the abuse they experienced. Some witnesses struggled to find words to express the details of what happened to them while others were able to provide full and at times disturbing accounts. The descriptions provided were sufficient to clarify the acute or chronic nature of both contact and non-contact sexual abuse.

Reported abuse ranged from inappropriate fondling and touching to oral/genital contact, vaginal and anal rape. There were 128 reports of sexual abuse from 127 female witnesses (34%).7 One witness reported that she was sexually abused in two different Schools. Witnesses described their experience of sexual abuse as either acute or chronic episodes occurring throughout their admissions in the Schools. Witnesses reported being sexually abused by religious and lay staff in addition to other adults, the majority of whom were understood to be directly associated with the Schools. Witnesses also reported being sexually abused by co-residents.

The frequency of sexual abuse reports varied widely between 35 Schools: Two (2) Schools were collectively the subject of 37 reports. Seven (7) Schools were the subject of 5-8 reports, totalling 43 reports. Twenty six (26) Schools were the subject of 1-4 reports, totalling 48 reports.

One hundred and twenty three (123) reports were of all four types of abuse combined, as shown below:

Abuse types	Number of reports	%
Sexual, emotional, neglect and physical	123	96
Sexual, emotional and physical	2	2
Sexual, emotional and neglect	1	1
Sexual and neglect	1	1
Sexual and physical	1	1
Total reports	128	(100)*

There were no reports of sexual abuse alone and, almost all reports were of sexual abuse combined with physical abuse, neglect and emotional abuse.

The following table details the distribution of sexual abuse reports, according to the witnesses’ discharge period:

Decade of discharge	Number of sexual abuse reports	%
Pre-1960s	22	17
1960-69	64	50
1970-79	35	27
1980-89	7	5
Total	128	(100)*

Sixty four (64) reports (50%) of sexual abuse were made by witnesses discharged from Schools in the 1960s. It is important to note that approximately half of the witnesses discharged in the 1960s were in institutional care for most, if not all, of the previous decade. It is also of note that a higher proportion of the abuse reports by witnesses discharged in the 1970s and 1980s were of sexual abuse; for example there were eight reports of abuse from witnesses discharged in the 1980s, seven of which were of sexual abuse. By comparison there were 178 reports of abuse from witnesses discharged during the 1960s, 64 of which were of sexual abuse.

The secretive and isolated nature of sexual abuse together with witnesses’ experience of having their complaints disbelieved, ignored or punished contributed to the environment in which sexual abuse was reported to have occurred. Witnesses reported that the culture of obeying orders without question together with the authority of the adult abuser rendered them powerless to resist sexual abuse. Witnesses further reported that the fear of punishment, the threat of being sent to a more restrictive institution or their siblings being removed to another School also inhibited them in resisting, reporting or disclosing sexual abuse. Some witnesses spoke for the first time about being sexually abused during their hearings with the Committee.

Witnesses reported sexual assaults in the forms of vaginal and anal rape, oral/genital contact, digital penetration, penetration by an object, masturbation and other forms of inappropriate contact, including molestation and kissing. Witnesses also reported several forms of non-contact sexual abuse including indecent exposure, inappropriate sexual talk, voyeurism and forced public nudity. Witnesses gave accounts of being sexually abused both within the Schools and in other locations while in the care of the authorities in charge of the particular institution. They reported being sexually abused in many locations, including: dormitories, schools, motor vehicles, bathrooms, staff bedrooms, churches, sacristies, fields, parlours, the residences of clergy, holiday locations and while with godparents and employers. The Committee developed a classification of the different forms of sexual abuse described by witnesses that are shown in the following table:

Forms of sexual abuse	Frequency reported	%
Inappropriate fondling and contact	102	38
Enforced nakedness/ voyeurism	52	19
Vaginal rape	27	10
Forced masturbation of abuser by child/mutual masturbation	22	8
Attempted rape and associated violence	15	5
Kissing	14	5
Vaginal penetration by objects	10	4
Digital penetration	8	3
Oral/genital contact	7	3
Indecent exposure	6	2
Anal rape	3	1
Other	8	3
Total	274*	(100)**

Vaginal and anal rape, forced masturbation, oral/genital contact, various forms of vaginal penetration and attempted rape with associated violence accounted for 92 of the witness reports made to the Committee. Five (5) witnesses reported that they sustained injuries as a result of the sexual abuse to which they were subjected.