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	'Shameful Day' for Ireland But Victims' Groups Warn It's Not Complete Picture of Suffering By Breda Heffernan Irish Independent May 21, 2009 http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shameful-day-for-ireland-1746412.html The Ryan report into child abuse at state institutions will stand as a memorial to a disgraceful episode in Irish history, victims' groups said last night. But they warned the horrors contained in the report's five volumes were not a complete picture of the suffering endured by thousands of children in institutions as only a third of those who wanted to give evidence before the Commission of Inquiry were able to do so. And many victims were angered to learn that their abusers had not been named. More than 35,000 children were housed in institutions from the 1940s and the ensuing decades. Almost 15,000 adults have now made claims of abuse to the Redress Board. Maeve Lewis, executive director of One in Four, said it was a "shameful day for Ireland" as the report showed how the public turned their back on abused children. "These children lived under a regime of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect which, even in the context of the harsh child-rearing practices of the time, is still extremely shocking." She said victims, who in the main had been met with disbelief and denial, now had their stories of abuse vindicated. "We must not forget that these children were in the care of the Irish State. Department of Education inspectors failed miserably in their duty to monitor the care of the children." She added: "These children were not invisible. Ordinary people had contact with the children on a day-to-day basis . . . people knew what was happening. We colluded by our silence with the abuse of these children and we must all take some responsibility for that." Flooded Victims' groups said helplines had been flooded with calls in advance of the report's publication. They will have extra staff at hand to cope with the surge in calls expected today. Christine Buckley, co-ordinator of the Aislinn Centre and a victim of abuse at the Goldenbridge Industrial School in Inchicore, Dublin, said it had been 25 years and one day since she started her campaign for justice. While welcoming the report's conclusions, she said the fact that abusers were not named was a "tragedy". She told how girls in the orphanage were regularly beaten and those with the worst bruises were locked into dormitories whenever Department inspectors -- who had alerted the orphanage in advance that they were coming -- visited.. Colm O'Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International and a victim of child sex abuse at the hands of paedophile priest Sean Fortune, said the report was a "catalogue of the greatest human rights abuses in the history of the State". Meanwhile CARI, a support organisation for victims of child sex abuse, said it was concerned that the report may lead the public into a false sense of security that such abuses were in the past. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre added that the report should not be "left on a shelf". The national 24-hour helpline for victims of rape and sexual abuse is 1800 77 88 88.
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