How the Irish State has compounded the abuse of religious institution survivors

IRELAND
Irish Central

March 7, 2020

Ciaran Tierney

Survivors of Ireland’s notorious religious institutions feel they were re-traumatized as the Irish State attempted to construct a Redress scheme

The Irish State has been accused of compounding the physical and sexual abuse experienced by survivors of religious institutions through a redress scheme which has traumatised thousands of people and blocked them from speaking out about what happened to them as children.

A brilliant two-part documentary series which aired on Irish national television this week has exposed how survivors were forced to sign waivers before receiving financial compensation, imposing “gagging orders” on them which compounded their abuse with the threat of imprisonment and financial penalties.

The “Redress: Breaking the Silence” documentary, aired by RTE television over consecutive nights, exposed how survivors have been prevented from naming their abusers, or even where the abuse took place, and how much compensation they received from the Redress Board.

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