The shock expressed by the Government at the Roscommon abuse case is hard to fathom, writes Ashley Balbirnie
WE WHO work in the ISPCC are better equipped than most to deal with horrific stories in relation to how we sometimes treat our nation’s children. Yet even we found it hard to comprehend the detail of what has been revealed in Roscommon this week where six children were left to suffer a litany of abuse up to 20 years after concerns about their neglect were first reported.
What is even harder for us to comprehend is the scale of surprise and shock that immediately emanates from the Government that our system should allow such a thing to happen. Why on earth should they be surprised? Our former taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, said in February 2007: “Over those years during which we have been legislating to protect children, and providing resources for the protection of children, it became clear to me that there is a gap in our child protection framework. That gap is our Constitution . . . I believe that the fundamental law of our land, the Constitution, should fully reflect our commitment to valuing and protecting childhood.”
These comments at the time were seen to be leading towards a referendum to strengthen children’s rights. That has not happened and, since then, we have seen the Government try and run as far away from a referendum as their legs would carry them.
We have known for some time that there are fundamental flaws in our system. Residential child abuse, the Kilkenny Incest Inquiry Report, and the Kelly Fitzgerald Inquiry Report, among others, all highlight examples of how we have failed children.
The Sexual Abuse and Violence in IrelandReport, published by the Rape Crisis Centre in 2002, told us that in Ireland one in five women, and one in 10 men, have been sexually abused as children, and that 47 per cent of these have never disclosed this abuse to the statutory authorities.
More recently, the Ferns Inquiry Report was another damning indictment of how Irish society has failed to protect children. That report outlined a litany of cruelty to children of various ages over an extended period. This cruelty, consisting not just of sexual abuse of children, but of institutionalised silence and inaction, served not only to traumatise and hurt children but also served to make these children feel that they were to blame for the abuse perpetrated on them.
How many more cases, inquiries, and reports is our society going to be shocked about? This has to stop now. It is clear that we need a major overhaul of our childcare legislation and that a very basic first step is that children’s rights must be enshrined in our Constitution. The basic principle underlying the rights of children is that society has an obligation to meet the fundamental needs of children, and to provide assistance to aid the development of the child’s personality, talents and abilities.
Our Constitution was written in 1937 and, understandably reflected the societal norms of the time. In that context, it was appropriate to define the concept of the family as a group based on marriage because this was the norm.
We believe that in most cases parents are best placed to bring up their children, and vital family support services are often integral to ensuring this. But sometimes the home is a very dangerous place for children and, in such cases, children need to be fully protected.
The Constitution, as it stands at present, allows an interpretation that gives a higher value to the rights of parents than to the rights of children. Consequently, the Kilkenny Incest Inquiry Report of 1993, by Judge Catherine McGuinness, clearly recommended “that consideration be given by the Government to the amendment of Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution so as to include a statement of the constitutional rights of children”.
The ISPCC has long urged such an amendment, but so also have Barnardos, the Children’s Rights Alliance, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Rape Crisis Network and the One in Four organisation.
Our organisations do not have all the answers on these issues, nor do we say that constitutional change will fix everything, but it must be significant that we all see it as the necessary first step.
It is indeed very hard to listen to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, talking in the aftermath of this Roscommon tragedy about “huge deficiencies in legislation” in relation to this case when we know that she and her Government colleagues have been stalling on something that is so crucial to bringing about improvements in this area.
It is time for the Government to demonstrate how genuine is their concern by putting the children’s referendum firmly back on the agenda, and naming a date for putting it to the people. Why not do it on the same day as this year’s local and European elections in June?
Ashley Balbirnie is chief executive of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Breda O’Brien is on leave