Abuse Survivors Blog

For many the term ‘institutional abuse’ can conjure up images of huge Dickensian establishments, like Haut de la Garenne in Jersey, where unspeakable crimes were carried out on orphan children by the very people who were entrusted with their care.  

But institutional abuse can also be much ‘closer to home,’ in that it is simply the mistreatment of children or vulnerable adults by any system of power.

In this blog post we explore common causes and examples of institutional abuse and offer advice on first steps for survivors seeking justice and compensation

Why institutional abuse occurs

A survivor of sexual abuse by one of Britain’s most notorious paedophile shines light on stories of high level conspiracy allegedly involving senior political and establishment figures.
Stephen Briggs, now living in Scotland, has won a legal action against the school where abuse first took place, and he has been awarded a five figure sum in damages.
Mr Briggs, now 51, was 12 in 1977 when he was first assaulted, whilst a pupil at the Cavendish School in Ealing, London.

One of six high profile former victims of a disgraced paedophile has donated his £30,000 damages award to an orphanage in the slums of Nairobi, in Kenya.
The six men were all abused as children by David Lowe, a former house master at two prestigious catholic schools, Westminster Cathedral Choir School in London and Ampleforth in Yorkshire.
In February 2015, Lowe was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of abusing 10 former pupils between 1978 and 1984, and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

James McCann, a former houseparent at the Catholic children's home in Shefford, Bedfordshire, faces 34 counts of ABH, 15 counts of indecency with a male person, and four counts of indecency with a child. Last week McCann suffered a stroke in court resulting in the judge ordering a Trial of the Facts.

St. Francis Boys' Home Criminal Trial - Scout Master Convicted Two key carers at a Catholic children's home have been charged with offences against children during the 1960s and 1970s. One of them, a scout master, Christopher Cahill, ran a scout troop specifically for boys at the home between 1965 and 1966.

A girl from the Stowmarket area who was sexually abused by her grandfather has been awarded a six figure sum in compensation for her psychological injuries.

Miss B was seven when the assaults took place in August 2002. Her grandfather was found guilty of indecent assault at a criminal trial at Ipswich Crown Court in August 2008.

He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and his name was recorded on the sexual offenders register.

Miss B attended a child psychiatrist, Dr Robin Benians. His view was that she suffered a major depressive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. She also showed symptoms of aversion. All those problems were attributable to her grandfather's conduct towards her.

Dr Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester's response to our client making her story public.

'It is testimony to her courage and integrity that the survivor who brought the allegations against George Bell has been prompted to speak out... 

See full article from The Argus:

We were proud to host professional colleagues, friends (old and new), and family, at our 5 year anniversary and new office opening event. We were equally delighted to be joined by Richard Fuller MP, who since 2012 has listened to us on a number of issues relating to our work. He was gracious in his acknowledgement of the contribution Emmott Snell Solicitors has made in the field of representing survivors of abuse at both national and local level. It was also an opportunity to thank all those who, knowingly or unknowingly, have contributed to us reaching our 5 year milestone.