IRELAND
The Guardian
Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 November 2012
The UK should follow the Republic of Ireland by preparing to make the reporting of alleged child abuse mandatory in law, according to the Dublin-based Children’s Rights Alliance.
Ireland is holding a referendum on Saturday that aims to enshrine the rights of children in the country’s constitution.
Since the 1990s Ireland has undergone a painful catharsis regarding widespread child sexual and physical abuse in what were once revered institutions of church and state. The republic has published 14 high-powered and damaging reports into the abuse and exploitation of children in church-run orphanages, industrial schools and parishes.
Tanya Ward, the chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, whose offices are just a few hundred yards away from the gates of the Irish parliament, said the UK could learn a lot from the Irish experience of dealing with a legacy of systematic child abuse.
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