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Child abuse inquiry: Survivors accuse ministers of 'complicity' Child abuse inquiry: Angela Constance defends remit
(about 1 hour later)
Child abuse survivors have accused the Scottish government of "becoming complicit" in the cover up of offences. A Scottish government minister has defended its inquiry into child abuse after survivors' groups called for its remit to be extended.
They are to demand ministers change the remit of the inquiry established to investigate abuse allegations. Campaigners have claimed institutions such as the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts could be "let off the hook".
Survivors' organisations, who are due to meet Education Secretary Angela Constance on Thursday, said she has ignored their concerns. But Education Secretary Angela Constance said the scope of the inquiry was "very far reaching".
The Scottish government said its level of engagement with survivors had been "unprecedented". And she said religious organisations were covered when they had looked after children in a residential capacity.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has been tasked with "raising public awareness of the abuse of children in care, providing an opportunity for public acknowledgement of the suffering of those children and a forum for validation of their experience and testimony."
'Religious organisations'
But survivors' organisations, who are due to meet Ms Constance on Thursday, have called for its remit to be extended amid claims that institutions such as the Catholic Church would be excluded from its investigations.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Ms Constance told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that "religious organisations and orders are included in the inquiry where they have looked after children in a residential capacity".
She said the scope of the inquiry had already been widened, and that the definitions of "in care" and "abuse" were very broad.
She added: "What we have tried to do is to try to strike the right balance.
"We want to ensure that survivors don't actually lose hope and that the inquiry will report back within a reasonable timescale - we have set four years - and actually be able to make clear and meaningful recommendations."
What is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry?
The inquiry has been tasked with investigating the nature and extent of abuse of children while in care in Scotland, and to consider the extent to which institutions and bodies with legal responsibility for the care of children failed in their duty of care.
When she established the inquiry last year, Ms Constance said it would "aim to shine a light in the dark corners of the past, to shape how we respond in the present and guide how we go forward in the future."
She also said that "we need to learn all we can to ensure no institution becomes a hiding place for those who abuse positions of trust to prey on children."
The inquiry's remit currently allows it to investigate cases of children being abused while in institutional care between September 1964 and December 2014.
It classes "in care" as being:
But it does not cover children who were abused while living with their natural or adoptive families, while using sports and leisure clubs or attending faith based organisations on a day to day basis.
The inquiry will also not examine allegations of children being abused in non-boarding schools, nursery or day-care centres.
The definition of "abuse" for the purpose of the inquiry is taken to mean primarily physical abuse and sexual abuse, with associated psychological and emotional abuse.
The inquiry has been instructed to publish its report and make its recommendations by October 2019 - four years after it was established.
But the White Flowers Alba (WFA) survivors' organisation said Catholic victims were being discriminated against because the inquiry had not been given the necessary powers to investigate allegations of abuse carried out in parishes or day schools.
It has called for the inquiry's remit to be extended to match that of one being led by Justice Lowell Goddard in England and Wales, which is investigating abuse carried out within the Catholic Church and other religious orders.
WFA spokesman Andi Lavery said: "Survivors continue to suffer. Why does a child raped by a priest in Cumbria, matter more than one in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Motherwell?"
He added: "When as children we said: 'No, please stop doing that', we say together resolutely as adult abuse survivors: 'This current inquiry is not fit for purpose'."
His comments were echoed by the In Care Abuse Survivors Scotland (INCAS) group, whose spokesman Alan Draper said the inquiry should "fit the purposes of survivors, not those institutions that have failed generations of children".
'Not justice'
Mr Draper added: "We do know, for example, that the Boy Scout organisation and the Catholic Church have failed generations of children and we asked her (Ms Constance) to extend the remit.
"She is currently letting them off the hook. This is not justice."
The attack on the government came as the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry announced special measures to prioritise the testimonies of elderly or seriously ill people.The attack on the government came as the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry announced special measures to prioritise the testimonies of elderly or seriously ill people.
Its chairwoman, Susan O'Brien QC, said: "We are not quite ready to issue a call to all survivors and witnesses to come forward, as we are arranging to put support in place for people who will find giving evidence upsetting.Its chairwoman, Susan O'Brien QC, said: "We are not quite ready to issue a call to all survivors and witnesses to come forward, as we are arranging to put support in place for people who will find giving evidence upsetting.
"Unfortunately, not everyone can wait even a few more weeks, so we have decided to take evidence from a small number of survivors as a matter of urgency.""Unfortunately, not everyone can wait even a few more weeks, so we have decided to take evidence from a small number of survivors as a matter of urgency."
Name change
The inquiry also said it was dropping the word "historical" from its title as it was prepared to hear allegations of abuse from as recently as December 2014.The inquiry also said it was dropping the word "historical" from its title as it was prepared to hear allegations of abuse from as recently as December 2014.
In Care Abuse Survivors Scotland (INCAS) welcomed the moves, but said it was very concerned about the attitude of government.
It called on the government to widen the remit of the inquiry to include institutions such as the Catholic Church which is currently excluded from its investigations.
In a letter to Ms Constance, INCAS parliamentary liaison officer, Alan Draper said: "The failure will result in institutions and organisations, who have covered up criminal activity, escaping public scrutiny, and prosecution.
"This has effectively resulted in the government becoming complicit in the cover-up of abuse."
He called on the government to ensure the inquiry's work could be as wide as that of Justice Lowell Goddard in England and Wales which is investigating abuse carried out within the Catholic Church and other religious orders.
The O'Brien Inquiry will investigate allegations of abuse carried out against children in residential care, including those fostered domestically.
Another survivors' organisation, White Flowers Alba (WFA), said Catholic victims were being discriminated against because the O'Brien Inquiry had not been given the necessary powers to investigate allegations of abuse carried out in parishes or day schools.
WFA spokesman Andi Lavery said: "Survivors continue to suffer. Why does a child raped by a priest in Cumbria, matter more than one in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Motherwell?"
'Not fit for purpose'
He added: "When as children we said: 'No, please stop doing that!'
"We say together resolutely as adult abuse survivors: 'This current inquiry is not fit for purpose'."
At the meeting on Thursday survivors will also ask Ms Constance to clarify its position in relation to redress for victims.
Mr Draper said: "If damage is caused to your car, it gets repaired.
"What survivors want is for their spiritual, emotional and physical damage to be repaired, for ongoing support to be put in place, and for reasonable compensation, not just for the damage caused but for the lost opportunities."
The Scottish government said the independent public inquiry, launched in October, 2015, would be one of the widest ranging Scotland has ever seen.
A spokesman said: "The initial call was for an inquiry into the abuse of children in institutional care. We listened again and widened the scope to include a wide range of care settings.
"Ministers and government officials have engaged extensively with survivors and continue to do so, working with them to expand specialist support services and to look at removing restrictions preventing many from seeking legal redress (time bar).
"We know there is a willingness among many survivors to continue positive engagement with the inquiry.
"We will continue working closely with all survivor representative groups to deliver our commitments, including improved support and commemoration, while allowing the inquiry team to get on with its essential work."