What's involved
We need to take evidence from people about what happened to them as children in care. We also want to hear from people whose relatives were children in care. We want to listen and learn. We will make recommendations to try and make sure that children in care are safe in the future.
It may be difficult and very emotional for you to tell us about your experiences. We have a witness support team who help anyone giving evidence to the Inquiry. The team is here to help and support you. We want you to feel safe when you speak to us.
The process
The Inquiry takes a trauma informed approach to how we gather evidence. Everyone who gives evidence to Inquiry goes through the same process.
If you wish to be anonymous when giving evidence, The Chair has issued a 'General Restriction Order". This grants anonymity to a wide group of people. If you're not protected by it, you may qualify for a specific restriction order to protect your identity. You would need to write to us to confirm this.
The witness support team help at each stage, whether applying, giving or reviewing a statement, or giving evidence at a public hearing.
It's the witness support team's role to help applicants understand the Inquiry process.
If you would like to talk about coming forward to give evidence, or if you have any questions about the Inquiry, you can:
- call 0800 0929 300 (Freephone), Monday to Friday, 1000-1600;
- email at talktous@childabuseinquiry.scot;
- write to SCAI, PO Box 24202, Edinburgh, EH3 1JN.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can also use:
- Contact us through an online BSL interpreter - Contact Scotland (external link)
When you contact us, let us know if:
- You have any concerns.
- You have additional support needs that might mean you need to share your experiences in a particular way.
- English is not your first language.
- You need special arrangements because you are in a young offenders’ institution, prison or hospital.
We will need to ask you some basic information such as your name, date of birth, and how we can contact you. We will also need to ask you where you were in care, and when.
If you were not in care but want to tell us about the experiences of your relative who was, we still need basic information about you such as your name, date of birth, and how we can contact you. We will also need to ask where the person you want to tell us about was in care, and when.
We ask you about the place where you – or your relative – was in care, and when, so that we can make sure that the experiences you want to tell us about are within the limits of what the Inquiry can investigate.
We will not ask you to go into detail about the experiences at this stage. Also, you do not need to provide us with any records about your time in care.
It doesn't matter if the people involved are alive or dead. You can still give evidence to the Inquiry if your experiences are within our Terms of Reference
You can contact the witness support team who can take this information over the phone. Or, you can fill in a short form. We can post or email it to you.
The witness support team will let you know as soon as possible if we are able to meet with you and explain to you what happens next.
If we are able to investigate the experiences you want to tell us about, we will meet with you. This is so that we can ask you about them and write down what you tell us in a statement. The Inquiry usually calls this meeting a ‘private session.’
You can bring someone with you to give you extra support. You can also let the Witness Support Team know if you need other help, like a BSL interpreter.
Usually, three members of the Inquiry team will meet you. The session will most likely be in a hotel meeting room near you. The team will help you to talk to them about the experiences you want to tell us about. It is for you to decide how much you want to say.
After your private session, we will write up a witness statement for you.
Once we have drafted your witness statement we will come and meet with you again to go through it with you. We call this meeting a ‘statement review’.
The Inquiry team will work with you to make sure you are content with your statement. You will be able to make changes to it if you want to do so. You can take things out or add new information.
Once you are content with the statement, we will ask you to sign it to confirm that it is true and accurate.
Your witness statement is evidence to the Inquiry. You cannot change it or withdraw it once you have signed it.
The Inquiry cannot issue any redress payments. The Chair has no power to award them or to be involved in administering, deciding, or making them. The Inquiries Act 2005 prohibits the Chair from ruling on or awarding compensation.
The Scottish Government carries our redress payments. They use Redress Scotland's own scheme. The Scottish Government runs the scheme. Redress Scotland decides on applications to it.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is independent. It cannot have any role in the redress scheme. Read our joint statement for more information.