Investigating the abuse of children in care in Scotland

Today, Thursday 18 June, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) will begin hearing closing submissions in relation to Phase 10 of its investigations. Phase 10 has been running since December last year and hearings will be completed by the end of this week.

The focus of the case study has been the provision of residential care for children and young people in establishments run by local authorities and establishments run by voluntary providers used by local authorities and others to place children in care.

Over the course of 46 days, evidence was heard relating to more than 200 witnesses and covered around 20 establishments. This included the evidence of 167 applicants.

Today, the Inquiry Chair, Lady Smith, will set out SCAI’s next phase.

Phase 11 relates to ‘Protecting children in care in Scotland from abuse: present and future’. It will begin in the latter part of this year and will focus in particular on paragraphs 6 and 7 of SCAI’s Terms of Reference. The Inquiry’s investigations will: 

• consider the extent to which failures by state or non-state institutions to protect children in care in Scotland from abuse has been addressed by changes to practice, policy, or legislation; and
• consider whether any further changes in practice, policy, or legislation are necessary in order to protect children in care in Scotland from abuse in future.

Lady Smith said: ‘In responding to our Terms of Reference, we have ingathered a substantial body of evidence in relation to a wide range of residential care settings and I have made many findings as published in 16 separate volumes thus far.

‘My 17th volume of findings will be published later this year and further volumes are in preparation.

‘During Phase 11 there will be a focus on paragraphs 6 and 7 of our Terms of Reference which require us to investigate the failures of state and non-state institutions to protect children in care from abuse, whether those failures have been addressed, and whether further changes in practice, policy, or legislation are necessary.

‘The structure of Phase 11 hearings will also allow for some specific themes to be explored. For example, later this year we will consider ‘Why children abuse other children? ’.

‘We have already heard and presented much evidence about the abuse of children in care by other children in our case studies, and I have made numerous findings about it. I now want to explore the important question of why it happens.

‘Also, I recently made an announcement in relation to our work regarding the exploitation of children in care and we plan to include it in our presentation of Phase 11.

‘By exploitation, I mean a type of abuse in which a single person or groups of people persuade or force a child to engage in sexual or other activity. When groups of people do this, they may be referred to as ‘grooming gangs’.

‘So long as the exploited child was in care, we can investigate the abuse even if the grooming or the exploitation took place outside the placement or foster home.

‘We can investigate allegations of abuse which happened before the end of December 2014 and, to be clear, we can investigate abuse which began before and continued after that date.

‘We plan to focus on the exploitation of children in care in our Phase 11 hearings in the early part of 2027.

‘Other hearings in relation to specific topics will follow and details of them will be announced in due course.’

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has commissioned and published two research reports on the experiences of disabled children and young people in residential care. Both reports provide further background to the Inquiry’s Phase 9 investigations (the provision of residential care in establishments for children and young people with long-term healthcare needs, additional support needs, and disabilities).  

The first report, by a team of researchers led by Dr Gillian MacIntyre from the University of Strathclyde, provides information on Scottish legislation and policy in relation to the provision of education in residential settings for children and young people with disabilities and additional support needs from 1974 to 2024.  

The authors conclude that there has been much progress over the past 80 years in promoting inclusion and rights-based approaches in education for young people with additional support needs. However, significant challenges remain. 

The second report, by researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University led by Professor Anita Franklin, examines UK and international evidence on the abuse of disabled children and young people in residential care institutions.  

This report found that research evidence was limited, although available material suggests patterns of abuse and failures across the UK and internationally. The general lack of evidence, however, makes it difficult to identify the precise scale and nature of the abuse of disabled children and the learning that would support prevention and improve responses to such abuse.  

The Inquiry is investigating the abuse of children in care in Scotland. It is also investigating the extent to which failures to protect children in care in Scotland from abuse have been addressed by changes to practice, policy or legislation. 

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) has today (Thursday 12 March) renewed its call for anyone with evidence about children in care being groomed for exploitation to get in contact.

SCAI, which is investigating the abuse of children in care in Scotland, says it has already received evidence about children being groomed and exploited, however, it believes there may be others who do not realise that such evidence falls within its remit.

Lady Smith, Chair of the Inquiry, said: ‘Although we have already been provided with evidence about children in care being groomed for exploitation – some of this evidence having been provided by witnesses in our current case study hearings – I believe there may be more.

‘I am aware that some people may be uncertain as to whether we can gather and investigate such evidence. They may think that they cannot now provide their evidence to us, given the announcement of a new public inquiry which is, I understand, going to focus on the grooming of children and young people for exploitation.

‘I want to make it clear that they can provide evidence to us, and encourage them to do so. Evidence about children in care being groomed for exploitation is important to the work of this Inquiry.’

The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference require it to investigate the nature and extent of abuse of children while in care in Scotland, wherever the abuse took place.

Grooming for exploitation is a form of abuse where an individual or group of individuals attempts to persuade, manipulate, or force a child or young person to engage in sexual or other harmful activity. When groups are involved, they may sometimes be referred to as ‘grooming gangs’.

Children in care can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

In a video appeal, Lady Smith confirmed that where a child was in care at the time, grooming for exploitation falls within the Inquiry’s remit — regardless of where the abuse occurred.

She said: ‘Grooming children and young people for exploitation can involve grooming them for sexual activity or any other harmful activity, including criminal activities.

‘I want to make it clear that – so long as the child was in care – we can investigate the abuse even if the grooming or the exploitation, or both, took place outside the placement. Our Terms of Reference also cover foster care.’

SCAI can investigate allegations of abuse which happened before the end of December 2014. It can also investigate abuse that began before that date and continued after that date.

In addition, it can examine whether systems failed to protect children in care from exploitation at any time — including after December 2014 and up to the present day — in order to assess what changes may still be needed to better protect children in the future.

The Inquiry would like to hear from anyone who: 

• was in care and wishes to share their experience of grooming or exploitation, whether it took place within or outside an institution, foster home, or other placement
• works or has worked with children in care and is aware of grooming or exploitation involving those children
• was not in care but has evidence about the exploitation of children who were in care.

Lady Smith added: ‘We know how difficult it can be to talk about the experiences of children in care — whether because you were a child in care or you want to talk about what happened to other children — and we want you to feel safe when you speak to us.

‘The Inquiry takes a trauma-informed approach to how we gather evidence and we have a Witness Support Team to support anyone who provides evidence to the Inquiry.

‘If you would like to talk about coming forward to provide evidence, or if you have any questions about the Inquiry, you can contact our Witness Support Team. Please get in touch, we want to hear from you.’

Anyone wishing to contact the SCAI’s Witness Support Team can do so:

• by telephone: Freephone 0800 0929 300
• by email: TalkToUs@childabuseinquiry.scot
• by post: PO BOX 24202, Edinburgh, EH3 1JN
• British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us direct through an online sign language interpreter at www.contactscotland-bsl.org 

Lady Smith, Chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), has today, Wednesday 28 January, published her findings relating to the provision of residential care for children at Fettes College in Edinburgh.