FIRST he was mistreated by his mother. Then he was mistreated by the State.
In September 2012, a nine-year-old boy was removed from his mother's care and placed into state custody. His mother had been arrested and charged with child abandonment and neglect and was later convicted.
The boy was placed at St Michael's School for Boys, a facility for offenders aged ten and over, where he remained for years.
Though he has a rare genetic disorder that often produced difficult behavioural problems, no care plan was consistently implemented. He was bullied and sexually abused, sometimes by staff, sometimes by residents.
In October 2016, the horror story continued when the child was moved to the St Ann's Psychiatric Hospital. Staff there struggled to manage his needs. Eventually he was transferred out upon an application by his mother.
A lawsuit was brought against the State. Damages to the tune of $2 million were awarded by the High Court, including vindicatory damages of $1 million. The State appealed.
This week, the Privy Council upheld the initial determination of Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams, finding the judge was correct in law to find constitutional breaches and furthermore was better placed to assess the facts and determine the quantum of damages, even if those damages could have been set lower.
The case is a watershed one which we hope will hasten efforts to overhaul the standard of care at state institutions as it relates to the care of children.
No amount of damages can ever restore someone's childhood or erase the trauma of abuse.
But hopefully some of the compensation will enable the claimant to access the kind of counselling or therapy that will be needed to address his needs in years to come.
In recent times, there has been a renewed focus on the appalling conditions at children's homes and the State's dismal record in addressing those conditions.
The 2021 Judith Jones Report laid bare startling accounts of horrendous failings. Yet still action on the findings has been slow and diffuse, with almost a year passing before a cabinet task force was funded to plan the way forward to implement changes.
The 1997 report into care homes by Dr Robert Sabga revealed startling incidents too, but the report was buried and only token action taken.
With about a dozen care homes linked to the Roman Catholic Church, that institution earlier this year announced an investigation into claims of abuse at facilities such as the St Jude's and St Dominic's children's homes.
On Saturday, Archbishop Jason Gordon took a different approach from the State. He did the right thing by apologising to former residents and asking forgiveness.
The Privy Council ruling may now force both the church and the State to go even further and bring about overdue change.
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