Chapter 9 — Record of abuse (female witnesses)

Inspections

In most instances, reports of physical abuse were combined with reports of other types of abuse. The following table illustrates the combinations of abuse types and the frequency with which the different combinations were reported by witnesses:

Abuse types	Number of reports	%
Physical, emotional and neglect	226	59
Physical, emotional, neglect and sexual	123	32
Physical and neglect	20	5
Physical and emotional	8	2
Physical	3	1
Physical, emotional and sexual	2	1
Physical and sexual	1	(0)
Total reports	383	(100)*

One hundred and twenty three (123) witness reports (32%) were of all four types of abuse. With six exceptions every report of abuse made by witnesses included reports of physical abuse and, as indicated, physical abuse was most often reported in conjunction with emotional abuse and neglect (59%). In 126 instances (33%), physical abuse was also reported with sexual abuse and the Committee heard three witness reports of physical abuse only.

As with male witnesses, the largest number of reports made to the Committee relates to witnesses discharged during the 1960s. Table 33 shows the distribution of witness accounts of physical abuse across the decades covered by this Report:

Decade of discharge	Number of physical abuse reports	%
Pre-1960s	132	34
1960-69	175	46
1970-79	69	18
1980-89	7	2
Total	383	100

Physical abuse was a component of the vast majority of abuse reported in all decades and 46% of physical abuse reports refer to witnesses who were discharged from Schools between 1960 and 1969. It is noted, however, that approximately 50% of the witnesses discharged in the 1960s were in institutional care for most, if not all, of the previous decade.

Arrangements for discharge

The forms of physical abuse reported by witnesses ranged from being smacked on the hand to being beaten naked in front of others. They described being hit, slapped, beaten, kicked, pushed, pinched, burned, bitten, shaken violently, physically restrained, and force fed. The Committee also heard reports of witnesses having their heads knocked against walls, desks and window ledges, being beaten on the soles of their feet, the backs of their hands, around their heads and ears, having their hair pulled, being swung off the ground by their hair, and made to perform tasks that they stated put them at risk of harm and danger. The locations where physical abuse was most frequently reported to have occurred included dormitories, refectories, landings, corridors, classrooms, churches, offices, kitchens, work areas and recreation halls. (We were)... beaten everywhere, bang your head off the wall, pinch your cheeks, beat you with a cane.... She ...(Sr X)... would grab you and hit you. • I remember once I got a big yellow blister on my hand, it was really painful.... Normally when you got a beating from someone you had to hold your hand out for a slap like that ... (demonstrated outstretched palm)... not always of course, some of them would hit you anywhere on the legs or anywhere. ... She ... (Sr X)... said “Why are you holding your hand out like that? Give me the other hand”....You have to have 10 on that hand and 10 on the other. I couldn’t part with this hand, it was yellow and throbbing it was, and she forced it open and slapped it. The blister burst, I’ll never forget the pain.

Further forms of physical abuse described by witnesses involved being made to kneel for hours on hard surfaces, both indoors and in outside yards, being locked in confined and dark areas such as coal houses, furnace rooms, animal sheds, broom cupboards and fridges, made to stand for lengthy periods and being doused and immersed in cold water.

The physical abuse described by the majority of witnesses included both detailed accounts of particular beatings and more generalised accounts of the daily experience of being hit and otherwise physically abused or witnessing others being abused.

The most commonly reported implement used to physically abuse a resident was some type of a wooden stick. One hundred and sixty six (166) female witnesses reported being hit or beaten with wooden sticks, blackthorn sticks, rulers, pointers, window poles, wooden spoons and other kitchen implements, chair legs, wooden crutches, hurley sticks, cricket bats, coat hangers, towel rollers and sally rods. A further 77 witness reports were heard of being hit or beaten with bamboo canes. ‘They would hit you anywhere, the nuns, with a wooden spoon, a silver spoon or a cane. I remember I had the stripe of the cane on my leg, the mark.’ I remember getting the spoon, the wooden spoon. Sr ...X... was running after me and I was running from her, you would be all stinging and raw where she hit you. You would be sore.

Ninety nine (99) witness accounts were heard of being beaten with leather straps, including cinctures, some ‘with strings attached to them’ and thin straps on occasion referred to as whips. In addition there were a further eight accounts of witnesses being hit with large Rosary beads and crucifixes that nuns wore at their waist.

There were 37 witness reports of being beaten with brushes of various kinds, including hand brushes, sweeping brushes, hairbrushes and yard brushes. Once she ... (named lay care staff)... came into the dormitory and another girl and I were talking, she went and got a wooden hairbrush and she came and pulled down my pyjamas and she whacked me on the bottom. She whacked me so hard it was impossible to sleep afterwards, and the next day it was still sore.

Having objects such as a wooden statue, metal tray and knives thrown at them was reported as a physical abuse by a small number of witnesses.

In addition to being hit, witnesses reported that, at times they were burned, had water thrown over them or were held under water, as described: Nineteen (19) witnesses reported being put into cold or scalding baths or showers. Twelve (12) witnesses reported having water thrown over them, five of whom were scalded with hot tea or water. Eight (8) witnesses reported having their heads held under water, including two whose heads were held under a cold running tap. Five (5) witnesses reported being burned with hot pokers or by having their hands held to a fire or on a hot stove. Two (2) witnesses reported having their fingers held to electric sockets. One of the girls she was very sick. I let her come into my bed one morning, she was very, very ill. They brought me down to the shoe room, they stripped me off, they threw cold water over me ... (prior to severe beating).... It was the shoe room you know where all the shoes were, even now if I get the smell of shoe polish, the feeling of enclosement, it was awful.

Six (6) witnesses gave accounts of nettles being used by nuns when punishing residents. They described being pushed into patches of nettles, hit on the legs with them, and, in one instance, their bed being full of nettles. ‘Sr ...X... put nettles in the bed of the girls who wet the bed.’ Other witnesses described being pinched with pliers, jabbed with a knitting needle, hit with shoes, a shovel, wet dishcloths, bunches of keys, serving spoons, scissors, electric cord and the treadle belt from a sewing machine.

Witnesses described being beaten and otherwise physically abused for many reasons and for no reason at all, which created an environment of pervasive fear. They described physical abuse in the context of being punished for some misdemeanour, real or perceived, or simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ‘No reason was needed, I was hit because I could be hit.’ Witnesses who had little or no family contact, those who were described as orphans, were reported to be most vulnerable to harsh physical discipline.

The most commonly reported circumstances that precipitated beatings were: bed-wetting, rule breaking, ‘stealing’ food, perceived failure at work or educational tasks, soiled or torn clothing, disclosing abuse to others, talking, untidiness, answering back, running away, left-handedness, indiscipline, being cheeky, talking to boys, appearing to engage male attention, having fun and refusing to eat. Other behaviours for which witnesses reported being physically abused included: perceived misbehaviour of younger siblings, babies in their care crying, being sick, linking arms with another resident and not getting up in the morning when called. As one witness said: ‘I suppose I was bold, but how bold can a child of 9 be?’.