SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Stephen Naysmith
Negativity surrounding the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has overshadowed the difficult and important work it is trying to do.
Concerns provoked by the resignation of key employees of the inquiry, former chair Susan O’Brien QC and panel member professor Michael Lamb earlier this year were unavoidable.
Our coverage of complaints lodged against a civil servant, Jessica McPherson – tangentially connected to the Inquiry, also within Government, through her work setting up the In Care Survivor Support Fund to help victims of abuse – has been a frustration.
Representatives of the independent inquiry point out that she doesn’t work for them, or the Scottish Government’s sponsoring department.
Ask any member of most survivor groups if she has been involved in the setting up of the inquiry, though, and they say she has. Many count her among their frustrations with their experience of being involved in the inquiry. Perceptions matter. That is why it is heartening to hear from some survivors of abuse about their positive experience of taking part in the core business of the inquiry – evidence gathering.
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