Bill Wilson MSP

Dr Bill Wilson MSP (West of Scotland, SNP) has written to the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Justice seeking reassurance that the alleged traumatic experience of an English sexual abuse survivor at the hands of the justice and healthcare services in England could not be replicated in Scotland.

Dr Wilson said, “I have been following the horrific experiences of Angela Bayley, as described in her blog, at the hands of the NHS and justice services in Nottinghamshire.  Ms Bayley, whom I have met and who claims she was repeatedly sexually abused as a child, writes that her current experiences reflect what happened to her previously, when she was sidelined by adults who refused to believe accounts of the abuse she suffered from a family friend, from a school teacher, from a care home worker and from her foster father.

“She has been sectioned by the very local authority she is suing due to their alleged failure to protect her as a child whilst a ward of their care, and has apparently been accused of seeking to take the lives of herself and her daughters on the flimsiest of evidence.  She is, in fact, happily married and holds down a professional job, and her daughters are now in their late teens.  There have never been any child protection concerns in the past.

“Now she has allegedly being denied the right to speak at hearings to decide on her fate, where people with little or no accurate knowledge of her history ignore her completely.  As a result of this, a suitable date for a second hearing (necessary as a social work report was not presented at the first one) was agreed without her comment, forcing her to cancel an operation.  Her account of the judge’s attitude alone is very disturbing!  It seems obvious to me that the treatment she is receiving amounts to a gross breach of her human rights and the very opposite of what she needs to help her recover from the traumatic experiences of her past.

“I would like to think that we are far better at dealing with such cases in Scotland, in light of the Scottish Government’s groundbreaking National Strategy for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (SurvivorScotland), the independent review by Tom Shaw titled Historical Abuse Systemic Review Residential Schools and Children’s Homes in Scotland 1950 to 1995, the setting up of the In Care Survivors Service Scotland projects, the Time to be Heard pilot, and the recent report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, A human rights framework for the design and implementation of the proposed "Acknowledgement and Accountability Forum" and other remedies for historic child abuse in Scotland, and so I have written to Mr MacAskill seeking reassurance that this is indeed the case, and specifically that no sexual abuse survivor in Scotland facing such hearings to decide on sectioning would be denied the right to express an opinion on his or her case and not consulted as to the suitability of dates for further hearings.

Notes to Editors

Text of letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice

Mr K MacAskill
Cabinet Secretary for Justice
The Scottish Government
St Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG

Dear Kenny

Reassurance regarding the way sexual abuse survivors would be dealt with in Scotland

I am aware of a sexual abuse survivor in England who is currently being held under section and who has apparently been accused of intending to murder her daughters on grossly inadequate grounds.  My particular concern is that at her initial hearing to decide on her immediate future she was denied the right to express her opinion as to the charges against her, her section and her treatment, and denied adequate representation.  Everyone in the meeting was consulted barring her, and a suitable date for a follow-up hearing (necessary as a social work report was not presented) was agreed without her comment, forcing her to cancel an operation.  The second hearing proceeded along the same lines as the first.  She is effectively being denied a therapeutic environment, to the extent that her treatment recalls the traumatic experiences of her childhood and appears to be worsening her mental and emotional state.  The details of her circumstances may be gleaned from her blog:  http://angelabayley.wordpress.com.

In light of the Scottish Government’s groundbreaking National Strategy for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (SurvivorScotland), the independent review by Tom Shaw titled Historical Abuse Systemic Review Residential Schools and Children’s Homes in Scotland 1950 to 1995 , the setting up of the In Care Survivors Service Scotland projects, the Time to be Heard pilot, and the recent report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, A human rights framework for the design and implementation of the proposed "Acknowledgement and Accountability Forum" and other remedies for historic child abuse in Scotland, it would seem impossible for survivors in Scotland to be treated in this way.  I seek your reassurance that this is indeed the case, and specifically that no sexual abuse survivor in Scotland facing such hearings to decide on sectioning would be denied the right to express an opinion on his or her case and not consulted as to the suitability of dates for further hearings.

I thank you in advance for your response.
 
Aefauldlie

Dr Bill Wilson MSP