Children must not suffer in silence like me, says victim

Editorial Department • Published 10 Sep 2010 09:00

For the last couple of months, much emphasis has been placed on mental health care. Many weaknesses have been identified, and there has been much debate as to what improvements need to be made going forward into the future. Most of the focus has been on, a total review of the Mental Health Act, and accommodation suitable for the McDermott Brothers, to enable them avail of treatment, away from the Donagh community.

All of this is very important, and very much welcomed by all involved, in what has been a very difficult and tragic case. However, what happened in Donagh is not unique. Mental, physical, and sexual abuse of children is prevalent in every town and village in Ireland and the United Kingdom going back for generations.

I was born in the sixties and was a teenager during the ‘Troubles’ and suffered serious mental, physical and sexual abuse. This abuse continued unabated in the village where I grew up for three generations and continued up until 2008. As a victim of child sexual abuse myself I know had services like those offered by the NSPCC available to me as a child it may have saved me from years of abuse. I don’t want any child to suffer in silence as I did or that any children in a village similar to Donagh should have to endure the same torment and pain experienced by generations of children brought up there.

If government policymakers need a catalyst for change, then Donagh must certainly be one and accordingly should be very high on the agenda.

Children who have been abused, are widely recognised by the health professionals, to be more likely to suffer from, depression, low academic achievement, addictive and destructive behaviour, and unfortunately in some cases - suicide. For many victims, these problems continue to be evident during adolescence and adulthood.

Yet it is inconceivable that governing bodies fail to recognise the need to adequately invest in child protection, and mental health treatment, for vulnerable children. The lack of public funding and investment is putting major long-term financial pressure, both on health and social services because of psychological damage caused by child abuse. This is extremely short-sighted and unproductive. The horrific and devastating effect of abuse left untreated at an early stage, can leave an individual very vulnerable, and very often State dependent for most of their lives.

From March 31 to June 31, 2010, 2,361 children were on the Child Protection Registrar in Northern Ireland. 229 (10 per cent) were in the Western Trust, according to figures released by the Northern Ireland Health Authority. From the overall figure of 2,361 children, 625 (27 per cent) were aged between 1- 4, 860 (16 per cent) were aged 5 - 11. A further 507 (21 per cent) were aged 12 to 15 and 197 (8 per cent) were under one year old. For an area the size of Northern Ireland, these figures are not only shocking; they also highlight the inadequacies of the services. It is unimaginable that services covering counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh are derisory to say the least. These children deserve better, it is their human right.

Childline has recently revealed that there has been a dramatic increase in calls from children whose parents are suffering from alcohol and drug abuse. Sadly some of those children are going to become part of the above statistics also, but yet we rely on a charitably funded National Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) who provide a frontline service to deal with these very serious issues.

There are three NSPCC Centres in Northern Ireland, Belfast, Craigavon, and Derry, all of which deliver good quality specialist services. It is these type of facilities that need to be made available for children in the Western Trust area.

Research carried out in the UK and Northern Ireland, by Dr Lisa Ponting on by half of the NSPCC revealed, 11 per cent of males and 21 per cent of females have experienced sexual abuse during their childhood. Only a small proportion disclosed their abuse at the time, 72 per cent told someone later, 31 per cent still had not told anybody by early adulthood.

The Bamford report for Mental Health and Learning Disability (2006) made key recommendations, support counselling services in schools, developing specialists therapeutic services, developing and implementing regional standards for recruitment, management, training, and support for staff dealing with victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse. These are just a few of the recommendations made.

If another tragedy like Donagh is to be avoided, policy must not only change but also reflect the lessons to be learnt from the past.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 09 Sep 10

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