Sex abuse challenge must be met head-on

The report published this week by Education Minister Norma Foley into historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders makes for grim reading.

The scale of sexual abuse and violence perpetrated by those we entrusted to educate our children is simply unconscionable.

The inquiry was told of almost 2,400 allegations of historical sexual abuse, involving 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools across all parts of the country, including here in Kerry, between the years 1927 to 2013.

Most of these allegations have been reported from the records of some 42 religious orders who currently or previously ran schools in Ireland.

And to think they once used to call this little green island of ours Holy Catholic Ireland. Jesus wept.

Minister Foley was right when she described the report as a harrowing document, containing some of the most appalling accounts of sexual abuse. The scale and horror of what people described in their interviews with the inquiry is shocking, and the lasting impact on the lives of those survivors cannot be overstated.

So what happens now Norma, Simon, Micheál, Eamon, and the rest of the government?

It has been made glaringly clear by the vast majority of survivors who contributed to this report that they want action. They want some form of statutory investigation, and they want a proper redress.

The fact that the Government has already confirmed that a Commission of Inquiry will be established is the first decent step.

What’s crucial here - because it hasn’t happened all along - is that survivors are heard in a non-adversarial process with real powers; one that can compel witnesses and documents and has the option of giving evidence in private for those survivors who do not wish to speak publicly about what has happened to them.

But there’s also been a clear mandate from survivors that a redress scheme should form part of the Government response – and the religious orders should be made cough up some, if not all, of the compo.

While it’s been widely acknowledged that redress can never heal the appalling damage done to those who had experienced childhood sexual abuse, it goes some way towards addressing the inexcusable hurt and harm that was forced upon them. After so many years of hiding pain and suffering, proper redress must be delivered quickly.

Sex abuse was hidden under the carpet for generations in this country of ours. Church and State conspired to keep us in a pretend world of facile religiosity and self-delusion. It was a state of comfortable ignorance for those unaffected by this scourge – but a cruel, unending nightmare for those victims never given the opportunity to tell what was really happening to them, or what had already happened.

On a broader scale, there simply needs to be more investment of money and personnel by State services in order for us better to cope with unresolved hurt. The sex abuse challenge is not something we should shy away from. Instead, it must be met head-on in order to bring victims peace and justice.

Allowing this terrible litany of sexual abuse to continue on from generation to generation is a legacy we simply cannot countenance any longer.