‘Harrowing viewing’: Taoiseach makes statement after survivors of violence in Irish schools speak out
TAOISEACH Simon Harris has pledged to consider extending the inquiry into clerical sex abuse at institutions across Ireland to include corporal punishment. Mr Harris made the statement last night following the broadcast of the RTÉ documentary Leathered: Violence in Irish Schools. The programme featured survivors of corporal punishment in Ireland, which was common practice until it was banned in 1982. RTÉ researcher Eanya Gallagher interviewed more than a hundred men and women about the lifelong trauma caused by their time in the Irish education system. “Many went to school every day in a climate of fear, knowing they faced the real and present danger of exactly this type of violence from adults who were supposed to protect them,” John Downes, who made and directed the documentary, said. The Taoiseach described the documentary as “harrowing viewing”. “The testimony on the historic violence inflicted on children in schools was harrowing viewing, I commend all of those who told their stories,” he said. Commenting…
31 Oct 00:00 · The Irish Post