Wednesday, February 14, 2007

RESTORING DIGNITY CAMPAIGN - Priorities


RESTORING DIGNITY CAMPAIGN

Among the most shameful events in Canada’s past is the abuse suffered by many children while under the care of institutions, including children sent to orphanages, residential schools, through various child welfare agencies. Over the centuries thousands of children have perished due to the criminal acts committed against them by their caregivers. Those who were entrusted to protect and care for vulnerable, neglected and abused children have not done their job.

From various reports to governments, reports all too few, and all too incomplete, we know the estimates of millions of people here in Canada and millions more worldwide have been affected adversely. We continue to lose many of these victims to homelessness, poverty, violence, crime and suicide.

During the time of the British Empire, marginalized groups like children were defined as ‘the lower social orders'. During this period, schemes for child migration were executed (the Early 1600’s – 1980’s), involving some 35 charities, including Dr. Barnardo's Homes (now known as Barnardo’s), The Fairbridge Society, the National Children's Home and Orphanage, The Church of England, the Advisory Council of Empire Settlement, the Church of England Children's Society (earlier known as the Church of England Society for Waifs and Strays), The Catholic Council for British Overseas Settlement, various Catholic religious orders, and the Salvation Army. Some of these charities are now defunct. There were also schemes for older youths, the best known being the Dreadnought and the Big Brother Movement.

“Many institutions were run on a “for profit” basis with income being received from government child welfare agencies (Child endowment) and/or from relinquishing parents. Income was also generated through commercial activities such as operating commercial farms, laundries and piecemeal work. In other situations boys were required to convert pristine country into working farms and to carry out all the building and road construction, again without pay. In this way the Catholic Church has been able to build up some substantial capital assets” Dr. Wayne Chamley - Broken Rites, Australia

In other groups, (non-institutionalized), like the Roman Catholic clergy sexual abuse victims, suicides are frequent. In the United States of America alone, there were thousands of sexually abusive priests who assaulted countless numbers of victims. Sexually abusive Priests assaulted their victims during family home visits, at church facilities or during social outings with their victims. When the offending priests were exposed, frequent church practice was to relocate the offending priest where the corruption would continue in untainted communities. Because offending priests, whose offences were not yet known, were often popular in the communities they served, that popularity generated large revenues for the church. Sadly, the financial gain only served to further fuel the church's denial of the scandal.

As you read this today, thousands of survivors are living in abject poverty, with no home, no family and no government willing to help them. The circumstances which created these victims are taking toll on new victims, children. More than 1.2 million Canadian children live in poverty. Many of these children will be forced to live under institutionalized care. In Canada, research shows that all children entering institutionalized life will have a 50 percent of being abused. Under the auspices of institutional care, some of these children will die or be killed.

For centuries, the offending institutions have been those who govern our country, and the various religious orders and institutions which are supposed to shape and influence the moral character of society. Amidst the hypocrisy, rhetoric has played a key role in silencing the countless victims. These crimes which should have never been forgotten became lost in a web of deceit and denial disguised in political and religious rhetoric.

Human rights abuses against marginalized groups and children must be addressed. Don’t allow our nation to continue to be degraded by these policies and practices, which ignore our common humanity. Speak out. Ask your political leaders what they are doing to eradicate poverty in this country. Ask your political leaders what they are doing to redress the harm done to victims of child abuse.

What we are calling for from governments:

Working in agreement with survivor groups, their advocates and communities, we wish to:

  1. Establish a clear, decisive definition of institutional child abuse into Canadian law.
  2. Launch a full national inquiry/Royal Commission into institutional child abuse.
  3. Establish, pending the results of a full national inquiry/Royal Commission, a new body of legislation which deals specifically with “Institutional child abuse” Incorporate this legislation into both Canadian criminal and civil laws.
  4. Incorporate laws which ensure that the culture and the language of groups are protected and preserved
  • Make the laws retroactive for unsolved claims or criminal cases respecting institutional child abuse. [“One of the women interviewed by Fournier and Crey, eighty-six at the time, reported witnessing the secret burial of a baby born at Kuper Island school to a terrified young girl. The archives from Kuper Island school reveal a litany of untimely deaths, most often children drowning in attempts to escape from the school.77 Haig-Brown's thirteen participants recount at least two preventable deaths among their peers as children.78 Testimony from Alberni school survivors includes reports of uninvestigated deaths and falsified burial certificates; in 1937 four boys froze to death after running away from the Lejac school in only summer clothes.79
  • Investigations into deaths at Thunder child school began in 1990, and in the Port Alberni school in 1995. Grant records survivor reports of a boy beaten to death at Elkhorn school; a young girl beaten to death at an unidentified school, and another survivor recalling a student beaten to death at his school.80 Survivor testimony and research both support claims of suspicious,concealed or culpable deaths of many students at the schools. Fournier states,

    At all period of the school' operation, it is certain that students died concealed deaths due to misadventure, abuse and neglect, which might be categorized – had the schools ever been held culpable – as criminal negligence, manslaughter and even murder.81” ] - excerpt taken from the Law Commission of Canada's "Restoring Dignity" report. http://www.lcc.gc.ca/about/restoring_toc-en.asp


The following is Ireland's commission report on institutional child abuse in Ireland:
A time line of institutional care in Ireland :


"The Manual" Tom Doyle - clergy sexual abuse, report to the The Vatican; Holy See, on the rising problem of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church:


  1. Establish a National Memorial day for all institutional child abuse victims. ( Please see the following website addresses for further details: http://www.restoringdignity.org/iicam.html, http://www.restoringdignity.org/orphan.html )
  2. Create a national registry for all individuals and agencies working with marginalized groups, children and individuals.
  3. Establish better standards of care for disabled and marginalized children living under the auspices of institutionalized care.
  4. Institutionalize fewer children, using thorough screening processes, by creating adoption policies and funding programs, to place children suffering from abuse to live with extended family members.
  5. Promote, foster and increase funding support for families caring for special needs children.
  6. Finally, working with anti-poverty groups nationally and internationally, set a realistic date and plan of action to eradicate poverty in Canada.
12. Establish a Federal law which will make the necessary changes mandatory in all Canadian provinces and territories.
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