Abuse Victims of the Bethany and Westbank Homes must also be heard– Danny Kennedy

Ulster Unionist MLA, Danny Kennedy has reiterated his Party’s commitment to ensuring that victims of clerical abuse, including those trafficked across the border and who suffered abuse in care homes such as Bethany and Westbank, are given the opportunity to tell their story.

In advance of the Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse Bill going through further consideration stage in the Assembly on Monday, Danny Kennedy said:

“The Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse offers an opportunity to ensure those victims of abuse are provided with a sense of justice for the horrific abuses they suffered. Sadly this is only the beginning of a process to air the harrowing history of abuse against children on the island of Ireland.

It is important that we do not forget the victims who now live in a jurisdictional limbo; those from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland who were sent to homes on opposite sides of the border and suffered abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to care for them. There are some awful stories of such abuse suffered by children who were sent to the Bethany Home in Dublin and the Westbank Home in Co. Wicklow. They have long fought a hard battle against governments who considered their abuse to be someone else’s problem.

It is absolutely shameful that children were effectively being trafficked back and forth across the border to be abused, supposedly in the name of Christianity. It is no longer acceptable that these victims have been met with silence in both jurisdictions. It is vital that they are given the time and space to tell their story.

This is the opportunity to right what was very clearly wrong; we owe it to the victims to ensure we do not let that opportunity slip from our grasp. For too long victims of clerical abuse have been forced to be silent, the Ulster Unionist Party stands committed to ensuring they get the chance to be heard.”

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