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Allegations of Abuse
in Institutions |
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Police have been called in to
investigate the claims of 300 former patients who say they were mentally,
physically and sexually abused at The group has already begun a
class action suit against the government, seeking an inquiry and compensation
for the trauma they suffered as children of the state while at the country's
largest psychiatric institution at the time. Child Youth and Family has handed
the claimants' files to the police to investigate claims against former staff
members. In a statement, CYF says it takes
any allegations of child abuse very seriously, no matter when the abuse is
alleged to have happened. Allegations have been made that
children as young as eight years old were punished with electric shock
treatment. Some say they were locked up in
seclusion for weeks on end and subjected to physical, mental and sometimes
sexual violence. "You would wake up sitting in
an armchair, dribbling out the side of your mouth. You just open your eyes.
You [would] wonder who you are, where you are," says one former patient
who wished to remain anonymous. But legal experts say any criminal
charges against former staff will be hard to prove. "The reality is there is
significant practical problems that the police and the prosecution agency are
going to have to work through and that's identifying who the perpetrators
are, identifying who the possible victims are and then gathering statements
that are relatively consistent," says Criminal Law Expert Chris Gallavin. And while former patients are
eager for resolution, police will not comment on how long their investigation
is likely to take. |
