Ireland to Vote on Children’s Rights

By Jamie Smyth
Financial Times
November 9, 2012

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f592c13c-2a70-11e2-a137-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Ff592c13c-2a70-11e2-a137-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bishop-accountability.org%2FAbuseTracker%2F#axzz2BoNEOUfI

Dublin is holding a referendum on Saturday to give explicit constitutional rights to children in an effort to draw a line under a series of sexual and physical abuse scandals, which have exposed how church and state failed vulnerable children over decades.

The vote follows a turbulent few years, which have seen Ireland close its embassy to the Vatican following reports exposing revelations of church cover-ups of abuse by priests and state negligence in protecting children at risk. It takes place against a backdrop of deep budget cuts to services supporting children and families as a result of Ireland’s financial crisis, prompting allegations of government hypocrisy.

“The most important part of this referendum is that it will give children a voice, which they haven’t had up to now. In the past children who suffered abuse and spoke out were often not believed,” says Marie Collins, a survivor of clerical child sex abuse.