GLASGOW (SCOTLAND)
The Herald
March 2, 2018
By Jody Harrison
A Catholic Church report suggests levels of sexual assault and rape of children in their care peaked in the 1950s.
The academic review of historical allegations of abuse at orphanages and churches uncovered hundreds of accusations made against priests and other figures, stretching back dozens of years, with the high-water mark occurring in 1953.
However, campaigners have raised doubts over the figures, saying that the majority of the abuse would have been swept under the carpet and not entered into official records.
Dr Ben Torsney, of the University of Glasgow, found almost 400 cases or reports of abuse in Scotland between 1943 and 2005 during a probe launched at the behest of the Scottish Bishops.
Recorded allegations reached a peak in 1953 with 124 reports, and then began to fall with no more than five a year between 1990 and 2005, according to the study.
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