Child Abuse
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ABUSE victims have called for the abolition of a barbaric 'points system' used to rate the level of sexual and physical torment suffered in institutions.
A former resident of an industrial school said the practice of awarding scores to determine just how bad abuse was in each of the thousands of cases taken so far is "inhuman."
Compensation deals between victims and the Residential Institutions Redress Board are a closely guarded secret. If a person has made a final settlement, they can face up to two years in prison and a fine of €25,000 if they make public the outcome of their case.
However, the Sunday Tribune has obtained details of an unsettled case, which is now likely to go before the courts. In this case, one applicant victim scored just 15 points out of 40 in terms of the abuse she suffered and was offered only €30,000 in compensation by the Redress Board.
Each applicant is ranked out of 10 under four categories which are; severity of abuse; severity of medically-verified physical or psychiatric illness; severity of psycho-social sequelae; and severity of loss of opportunity. The final score out of 40 places the applicant in a 'redress band', which determines how much compensation they actually receive.
In this instance, the woman at the centre of the claim from the age of three had spent seven years in an industrial school from 1948 to 1955.
She was awarded eight out of 10 by the board in recognition of the 'severity of abuse'. However, she scored zero out of 10 with regard to 'physical or psychiatric illness'. This score was despite having been blinded in one eye whilst in care and suffering a serious leg infection, which was left untreated for five weeks.
In terms of 'severity of psycho-social sequelae' – or the general repercussions for quality of life after the abuse – she scored five out of 10 points. For the final category, 'severity of loss of opportunity' she was awarded just two points.
Her case was heard by two of the board members.
Ironically, the board's 12 members have fared far better financially than many of the victims and last week, the Sunday Tribune revealed how they shared fees of €1.627m – or an average of €135,000 each – in 2007.
The applicant told the Sunday Tribune: "It's an absolute disgrace. When Bertie Ahern made his apology to victims of abuse, he promised we would all get a fair hearing so that something like this could never happen again.
"Now, the Redress Board threatens us not only with fines but with two years in prison... why would they try and frighten vulnerable people for stating what happened to them?"
Leading psychiatrist Dr Michael Corry said: "I think the whole thing should be shut down. This is no way to treat a human being, particularly those who have been sexually abused.
"These things are unquantifiable. These people have lost their entire lives, ended up in prison, ended up as drug addicts – how do you mark that out of 10?"
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