Inquiry came too late for pioneer but his evidence was heard

ONE man who will not take part in the public hearings of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was nevertheless a significant presence at its opening day.

Frank Docherty, one of the pioneering child abuse survivors, who helped set up the campaign group Incas (In Care Abuse Survivors Scotland) and whose

courage to come forward and say, ‘Yes, these events did happen.

“This is what we will do to assist and support those who suffered horrific abuse at the determination helped bring about the public inquiry, died suddenly in late April.

Like too many victims, his time simply ran out before he could hear answers or see justice in respect of abuse suffered in state care.

He had, however, given written evidence to the inquiry and the inquiry’s lead solicitor Colin Macaulay QC devoted most of his opening statement to allowing Mr Docherty to speak from beyond the grave.

It was a poignant tribute, not

hands of members organisation’.”

Janine Rennie, chief executive of survivors’ support charity Wellbeing Scotland, said: “Some

of

our least given his comments about other abuse victims who have died.

“Incas used to have more than 400 members,” Mr Docherty said. “But every time we send a newsletter out, we are contacted to say another member has passed away.”

Mr Docherty also wrote about his hopes for the inquiry. “What I want out of the inquiry is justice for children who suffered abuse,” he said. “The way we were treated took away our self-esteem, it was humiliating

people walked out of the hearings. A lot of us feel frustrated the inquiry seems set to focus on institutional failures. Those are blindingly obvious. What victims want and damaging. My childhood has been taken away from me.”

John Scott QC, Incas’ solicitor, said it was fitting that Mr Docherty’s words were heard at the first hearing, while Lady Smith in her opening remarks said she was deeply sorry the inquiry could not hear from him in person.

He was “determined and unwavering” in his commitment to justice for abuse victims, she said. “It is a tragedy he won’t be here for the public phase of the inquiry he fought so hard for.”

is justice and accountability for individual abusers.”

Ms Rennie was among those marking a minute’s silence as part of a vigil outside the inquiry venue in Edinburgh, which was supported by child abuse survivors from Northern Ireland. These included leading campaigner Margaret McGuckin and Kate Walmsley, 60, a Glaswegian by birth, who was separated from her family at the age of seven and taken into the care of the Sisters of Nazareth in Londonderry.

The inquiry is expected to report in late 2019. It will investigate more than 60 institutions to determine what child abuse occurred in state and state-sponsored residential care, how organisations and individuals failed to prevent it and what can be done to prevent similar cases in future.

Sitting for three days a week until mid-July, the first phase of hearings will explore the history of state care and the nature and prevalence of child abuse in Scotland, before hearing from religious organisations and charities about the history of care they provided.