IRELAND
Financial Times
By Jamie Smyth in Dublin
Dublin is holding a referendum on Saturday to give explicit constitutional rights to children in an effort to draw a line under a series of sexual and physical abuse scandals, which have exposed how church and state failed vulnerable children over decades.
The vote follows a turbulent few years, which have seen Ireland close its embassy to the Vatican following reports exposing revelations of church cover-ups of abuse by priests and state negligence in protecting children at risk. It takes place against a backdrop of deep budget cuts to services supporting children and families as a result of Ireland’s financial crisis, prompting allegations of government hypocrisy.
“The most important part of this referendum is that it will give children a voice, which they haven’t had up to now. In the past children who suffered abuse and spoke out were often not believed,” says Marie Collins, a survivor of clerical child sex abuse.
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