Fresh Start - David Scott - Thursday 30 August @ 18.00

Fresh Start - David Scott - Thursday 30 August @ 18.00

The Fresh Start Foundation (FSF) is an Independent Peoples Inquiry into all forms of Child Sexual Abuse in Scotland. Having witnessed the failures of existing authorities to protect the children of this nation, and having seen the loss of confidence in the official enquiry, we have concluded that ordinary Scots must stand up to this challenge. 

FRESH START FOUNDATION

On Thursday, David Scott gave a thought-provoking account of the work of the Fresh Start Foundation.  The Foundation is a relatively recently created Scottish not for profit group whose goals are the empowering of child sex abuse victims and survivors, with the objective of enabling them to achieve justice, closure, and, subsequently, to facilitate their recovery.  The group is made up of volunteers who give freely of their time because of their belief in, and commitment to, what they are doing.

David illustrated the Foundation’s fundamental concern about the effectiveness of some public agencies’ actions where sexual abuse has been alleged. He instanced this by reference to a specific case where action by the authorities had concluded without anyone being brought to trial. Robert Green, one of the founder members of the Foundation, having investigated the circumstances of the alleged abuse, and the lack of definitive action taken by the authorities, then campaigned to have the case looked at again.  As a result of a detailed report prepared by Green, the case was re-opened.  The police, having re-interviewed the victim, decided that there was insufficient admissible evidence to support bringing the case to trial.  Green, in the light of this, then publicly named those whom he believed, from the evidence he had uncovered, had been responsible for the alleged abuse.  As a consequence of this naming, he was arrested and held over a weekend.  A subsequent failure by Green to observe a court order banning him from Aberdeen, resulted in his being arrested for a breach of the peace.  The outcome of this will now be heard before the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

David expressed further concerns about the plethora of cases of sexual abuse now being revealed, including in areas such as sport, local authority care provision and the churches, with evidence also of organised crime gangs involved in trafficking of young people. He said the Foundation in many instances lacked confidence in the willingness of the authorities to take appropriate action to bring perpetrators to justice. In the case of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry dealing with abuse of children in care, he was critical of the length of time this was taking, and was concerned about the possibility of what he described as the potential for political interference.

The Fresh Start Foundation is now undertaking a two-year long programme of roadshows, visiting every Scottish local authority, and with two visits to each of the four major cities. They will use these to make contact with victims and survivors of abuse who have evidence to give, with a view to taking action where they believe appropriate steps to follow up reports of abuse have not been taken.  Such evidence may lead to the issuing of public statements, with the possibility of legal action to follow.  

Speaker’s Host, Jonathan Marshall, thanked David for a clear explanation of the work of the Foundation, and its approach to concerns about the sexual abuse of children.