SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Stephen Naysmith
A newly formed group of survivors of childhood abuse in care is planning a vigil in Edinburgh at the public launch of an inquiry expected to be Scotland’s largest ever.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) will begin to hear evidence in public from May 31st, when campaigners say they will hold a vigil to help raise awareness of its work.
The new group SAFE (Seek and Find Everyone abused in childhood) is calling on politicians and the inquiry team itself to support a minute’s silence for abuse victims and says its aim is to encourage more people to come forward and give evidence to the inquiry.
However critics said that if people were already in two minds about revealing that they had been abused, the presence of a demonstration outside the venue for the inquiry was more likely to put them off.
The inquiry, which has so far cost more than £5.7 million, is charged with investigating abuse within state care at any time in the living memory of victims. This includes physical and sexual abuse, but also psychological and spiritual abuse, and settings range from council-run residential schools and children’s homes to church and charity-run projects and foster care.
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