Women who say they were beaten and sexually assaulted at a girls’ school have hit out after being told they won’t get money from a new compensation scheme.
Survivors from Fornethy Residential School have been told they don’t qualify under the taxpayer-funded Redress Scheme, expected to start handing out money later this year.
Marion Reid, 63, a co-founder of the group who said she was abused there in 1965, said it was “a bitter blow”.
She said: “It belittles the abuse many of us suffered. It’s like the Scottish Government are saying, ‘Yes, you were abused but you weren’t abused long enough.’
“Many of the women in the group might only have suffered six weeks’ abuse – physical and in some cases sexual – but the long-term effects has lasted their entire lifetimes.“For years we have felt ignored by the authorities. And this just reinforces that. There are around 200 in our group – 200 women aren’t lying.”
A Scottish Government official wrote to the Group to say: “Whilst the abuse suffered in all circumstances and settings is wrong and harmful, the exclusion of those abused in short-term respite or holiday care is in keeping with the core purposes of the redress scheme, which is primarily for those vulnerable children who were in long-term care, often isolated with limited or no contact with their families.”
Last year we told how 40 women had bravely come forward to reveal the abuse they suffered at Fornethy.
Schoolgirls were sent to the rural school to recover from illness and given promises it was like a holiday camp. But in reality they were subjected to brutal beatings and under-age sex attacks by staff.
Glasgow City Council ran the home between 1961 and 1993 after being gifted the mansion in Angus in 1955..
Thompsons Solicitors has launched a 130-strong action against the authority.
Abuse survivors who aren’t awarded compensation via Redress Scotland are still able to pursue their own claim through the civil courts. But a time-bar limit on how long ago the abuse happened only applies after 1964.
June Doherty, 66, went to Fornethy House in 1961. She said: “It was a horrible place. I was force-fed there but escaped lightly compared to other girls. I witnessed some being physically battered. The fact these women are not going to be able to go after compensation for the abuse they suffered is shameful.”
Redress Scotland, set up in March, will pay out up to £100,000 to victims.
Laura Connor, of Thompson Solicitors said: “We continue to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that all in care survivors are allowed to access compensation through the Redress scheme.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Redress Scotland will consider all the facts and circumstances of each applicant’s case before reaching a decision.”
