No one asked Liam why he kept running away when he was placed in a children’s home
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Liam was taken into care in the early 1970s because his mother was unable to look after him.
He was sexually abused by his social worker. In recent years, other victims have come forward and the man has been charged with several offences.
Liam explains that he rarely saw his mother after he was removed from his home. His brother and sister were also put into care, but in separate places.
He was sent to a children’s home where he was introduced to a social worker called Michael. Liam was five years old and he remembers thinking when he first met Michael that he seemed very pleasant.
But Michael began sexually abusing him and this continued over the seven years that he was officially Liam’s social worker. As the abuse escalated, Liam started running away from the home. He was caught and returned every time but no one ever asked him why he ran away.
He adds that Michael would walk into the children’s home unannounced and start ‘mucking around’ with the kids. This made a lot of them feel very uncomfortable but the staff turned a blind eye to it.
Many of the other children ran away from the home and Liam feels sure that Michael was abusing some of them. He remembers feeling relieved about this, because it meant he was not the only child being abused. As he got older, Michael used to threaten to kill him if he told anyone.
Liam increasingly got into trouble with the police and he was sent to prison when he was in his mid teens, for a ‘short sharp shock’. He says that it was ‘absolute hell’ and he cried nearly every day, but no one ever asked him why he was acting this way.
After he left prison, Liam moved to another city and found work. He says he felt better for being away from his past.
A few years ago, he decided to report the abuse he had suffered to the police. Doing this brought back a lot of bad memories and feelings for him.
The investigation took a number of months. Other victims came forward and a large number of charges were brought against Michael. Liam learned that his abuser was also a Scout leader.
The police suggested Liam should have counselling, but he has found it very difficult to access services.
The impact of the abuse has affected Liam’s relationships. He is married and has children, but he has told them very little about his earlier life. He says he worries constantly about where his children are and he has not wanted them to join organisations like the Scouts.
He suffers from PTSD and anxiety. In the past, he has abused drugs and alcohol and has self-harmed.
Liam would like to see better access to information for victims and survivors. He feels that perpetrators seem to have more rights than victims.
He says his experiences with social services left him feeling unsupported and alone, and he would like to see improvements to the way they work, particularly how they listen to children.