Child abuse victims unite to help others

Society may be waking up to the extent of the problem, but Ireland is still a cold place for those who were victims of sexual abuse in their childhood.

A new national organisation, however, is determined to change that. It's a group made up of victims who are seeking the removal of the obstacles they continue to face in getting their stories told and their abusers brought to justice.

The Irish Association of Victims of Child Abuse has been founded by people like Dubliner Andrew Madden, who was abused as an altar boy by Father Ivan Payne, and Waterford man Derek Power, a victim of the first Christian Brother to be convicted of sexual abuse offences, Brother Jack Kelly.

The association is needed, says Mr Power, to highlight the difficulties victims of child abuse continue to encounter in spite of the growing awareness of the problem. "There is a new attitude in society, but the system that is in place to deal with it is still hopelessly out of date," he says.

"The number of obstacles put in the way of victims of child abuse is unreal. When a person is brave enough to say `I am going to address the dark side of my past and the abuse that was perpetrated against me', they are continuously knocked, whether it be by the legal system, the medical profession, or whatever."

To discover how effective those obstacles are, you only have to hear Derek Power's story. He was abused as a seven-year-old by a trusted family friend who took advantage of the fact that Derek's older brother, Tony, was terminally ill. Their parents believed Kelly was spending time with Derek to comfort him.

When Kelly was confronted by Mr Power's mother many years later, he responded by labelling her son "a liar, a junkie and an alcoholic".

But perhaps the most shocking aspect of the story was yet to unfold. When Mr Power, as an adult, sought help for the psychological problems he was suffering arising from the abuse, and reported Kelly to the authorities, his life should have taken a turn for the better. Instead, his problems began in earnest.

He first reported the abuse to the Garda in October 1993, but two years later he was told the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided not to proceed with the case. It was a crushing blow. "If they could have told me why they wouldn't prosecute, I might have understood, but not knowing was the hardest thing. I was made to feel as if they thought I was lying."

Undeterred, Mr Power lobbied politicians to have the case reopened and supplied the Garda with the names of other people he believed had been abused by Kelly. A second investigation, led by Sgt Denis Barry in Waterford, resulted in 10 other victims coming forward.

When Kelly received an eight-year sentence last February after pleading guilty to 51 charges of indecent assault and two of gross indecency, it was the culmination of a five-year battle by Mr Power to see justice done. But he still cannot close the door on this chapter of his life; he and other victims are now involved in legal proceedings against the Christian Brothers for compensation.

Even more shocking, perhaps, was his experience at the hands of the medical profession. For three years he was treated by a psychiatrist who adopted a "pull yourself together" approach to his problems. Through 40 psychiatric hospital admissions and a number of attempted suicides, he was prescribed "medication upon medication".

The first chink of light at the end of a very long tunnel came when Mr Power began to receive the counselling he needed at the Waterford Rape Crisis Centre. But many of today's victims, he says, are still meeting the same obstacles he encountered. Things have improved in Waterford, where local gardai have held consultations with the rape crisis centre about how best to deal with victims.

But the treatment available to past victims of sexual abuse is a national issue, as the Government has recognised by the establishment of the Commission on Childhood Abuse, to be chaired by Ms Justice Laffoy. Mr Power, who says the minimum needed is a free, accessible national counselling service for victims, hopes that he and other members of his association will be invited to share their experiences with the commission.

The association, which has six founding members but is likely to expand rapidly, meets in Dublin next week to draw up its strategy and objectives. A primary objective will be to bring about changes in the legal system, including the elimination of delays in getting cases heard and the right of victims to have legal representation in criminal cases.

"We would also call on the medical profession to be more empathetic and understanding of the needs of child abuse victims. It took me four years to regain my dignity and self-respect after living back through the memories of what had happened. Telling me to dust myself down and move on was not an appropriate response."

Mr Power is constantly reminded of how much needs to be done. His growing public profile as an articulate campaigner for victims' rights has led to increasing contacts with others now going through what he had to face.

Last week, for example, he received a telephone call from a man who, having made a complaint of abuse to the Garda, had just been told the DPP had decided not to prosecute, leaving him exactly where Mr Power was in 1995. "This man is out there, another victim, and nobody knows about him."

Maybe so, but thanks to the work of Derek Power, Andrew Madden and their colleagues, he is not necessarily on his own.

Anyone wishing to contact the Irish Association of Victims of Child Abuse can do so on 087299 2426.