A new study issued a warning against the sexual assault and abuse of children and teens in state care by organized gangs, reports RTE.
An urgent investigation into organized sexual assaults on children in care is needed, according to independent research that gathered evidence from frontline workers.
The study, based on interviews with staff and organizations working with children in institutions and from the UCD’s Department of Social Policy, found many cases where girls, some as young as 12, were abused by older men.
The call for an investigation by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is one of the key recommendations in the Sexual Abuse Research Program (SERP) report “Predator Protection”.
Ruth Breslin, associate research associate of the Sexual Abuse Research Program, said HIQA must respond urgently and quickly to any cases of suspected child abuse among residents of state-run nursing homes.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Breslin said further training, understanding and awareness of the risks was needed.
“Professionals need to have uncomfortable conversations about the issues,” she said, reports RTE.
“We heard about situations where cars would be lining up at night outside residential care homes. It’s very hard for them to really get to the bottom of what’s going on. What’s happening with some of these young girls is that they’re saying ‘I’m going out with my boyfriend’. Really what that is about is a predator, targeting that young person and … preying on their vulnerability,” Ms Breslin said, reports RTE.
The president of the Children’s Rights Alliance says he wants to know how many cases of suspected abuse of children in state-run care have been reported to Tusla or Garda.
Speaking on the same show, Tanya Ward said she was surprised that suspected cases of child abuse in state homes had not increased.
An organization representing young people in care described the report as “very concerning” and highlighted weaknesses in the care system.
Conor Stitt, Research and Policy Manager with EPIC (Empowering Young People in Care), said: “The state is in loco parentis to these children – they have the responsibly for their welfare and their safety as any parent should have, but equally those who seek to exploit children will look for weaknesses in our child protection system. This report has highlighted a number of those weaknesses that are very concerning that this government should respond to and take very seriously. One is the inconsistency in inspection and audit of our residential care homes, some of which are inspected by HIQA, that were operated by Tusla, some are contracted by Tusla but also inspected by Tusla. The legislation that would address this has been under consideration for the last four years,” reports RTE.
Equally we have a diminishing cohort of fosters carers, diminishing numbers of social workers and social care. These are issues that could be addressed by the government in Budget 2024 and this report highlights very much so that we need to address these issues because we have weaknesses in the system,” he added, reports RTE.
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