Payments made to ex-residents abused at Church of England children’s home

UNITED KINGDOM
AOL

Payments have been made to ex-residents of a notorious Church of England children’s home where girls were drugged and sexually and physically abused over nearly 20 years.

Around 24 former residents who participated in a damning review and report into life at Kendall House in Gravesend, Kent, have received ex-gratia payments.

The dioceses of Rochester and Canterbury said the payments acknowledged the “courage” of women who shared their stories, but one ex-resident described the money as an “insult”.

Disclosure of the payments came after an independent review this year revealed a catalogue of sexual abuse, ill-treatment and physical abuse at the home between 1967 and 1986.

Some girls were placed in strait-jackets, and youngsters as young as 11 were routinely, and often without medical assessment, given powerful anti-depressants, sedatives and anti-psychotic drugs.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.