In the midst of the PIRA child sex
abuse controversy and the allegations made by Maíria Cahill and Paudia McGahon,
Liam Adams was in court on March 26 again. Indeed, first debates on the PIRA’s
treatment of allegations of sexual abuse appeared in winter 2009, when Liam Adams'
abuse of his daughter came to light in public. The sexual abuse was said to
have been committed over a six-year period between 1977 and 1982 when his
daughter, Aine, was aged between four and nine.
It is well documented, that the
PIRA’s system of Civil Administration worked well to police the nationalist
areas and wipe-out petty crime. However, it was at the same time totally
unprepared to deal with allegations as serious as child abuse, in particular if
these allegations were directed against their own activists. To be sure, this
is not a statement against the PIRA justice system as such. Rather it proves
the weaknesses of an alternative justice system set up during periods of
turmoil and war-time of people previously not involved in dealing with these
serious issues and, more importantly, never trained in dealing with sexual
abuse. Consequently, the PIRA’s Civil Administration stumbled into this major
problem completely unprepared and ill-advised.
In essence, I am not in the
position to blame the PIRA or its Civil Administration for what they did. The
Civil Administration might have been the best system possible for war-torn West
Belfast. However, the essential misbehaviour of those republicans dealing with
the cases of Maíria Cahill and Paudia McGahon was to sweep it under the carpet
in order to whitewash their activists’ name at the expanse of the victims.
Struck by these recent
developments surrounding allegations of sexual abuse and in particular child
abuse within the Republican Movement during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, I stumbled
over an article on child sex abuse in an old edition of the republican
newspaper An Phoblacht. To be sure,
since the 1970s An Phoblacht is the
highly influential organ of the Provisional Republican Movement.
The article appeared on page 2 in
An Phoblacht on Thursday, March, 7,
1985, the day before the International Women’s Day on March 8. It is
accompanied by an Opinion piece on the importance of the International Women’s
Day. The headline simply reads: Child sex
abuse; the article is written by Maeve Armstrong.
The eye-catcher of the page is a
quote from Gerry Adams speech at the 1984 Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin. In white
letters on black background it reads:
“Until my election as West
Belfast MP, I was unaware of the extent to which incest occurred, but since
then I have had to deal with such cases. I am speaking on this issue to
encourage other men to speak out.”
Well, it would be interesting to
see how Adams dealt with incest in the community back in 1984. And what did he
tell those men who were brave enough to “speak out.” Who dealt with what they
said? Did he tell them to go to the RUC, as he allegedly told Maíria Cahill?
What if the accusations involved a well-known member of the republican family?
Who knows…?
However, let’s continue with the
article in An Phoblacht which makes
an interesting read in the light of recent allegations:
“One of the most emotive, though
least talked about, issues in Ireland today is the widespread yet conveniently
ignored problem of child sex abuse.”
Exactly thirty years ago, Sinn
Féin acknowledged widespread child abuse as an ignored problem in Ireland.
Well, as we have seen in recent years, it was not the behaviour of the
Republican Movement towards allegations of child sex abuse within its own ranks
that encouraged people to speak out and deal with this “ignored problem.”
Rather it was the Republican Movement itself that prolonged the silence within
the nationalist community towards sexual abuse.
The article goes on, explaining
that
“under the 1865 Offences Against
the Person Act, a British Act which still applies both North and South, child
sex abuse encompasses a long and disturbing list of criminally punishable
sexual activities such as gross indecency, indecent assault, buggery, exposure
to pornographic material and ‘flashing’ and exhibitionism. Also included is the
taboo and socially-embarrassing crime of incest, defined as full sexual
intercourse with a blood relative.”
This rather technical introduction
is followed by one of the most interesting parts of the article:
“If child sex abuse is to be
prevented in the future, then society must first of all confront the issue by
ending the silence, secrecy and myths which distort the truth and, secondly,
re-examine our attitudes to sexual relationships in general. We must work
towards preventing not only child sex abuse, but other crimes like rape, from
happening.
“Countless children,
overwhelmingly female and under the age of 15, live with the ominous shadow of
fear and misery as victims of incest – child rape – and suffer its traumatic
effects long into their adulthood and old age. Incest is on the increase, not
only here in Ireland but in every country around the world.
“Until recently, the enormity of
the problem virtually escaped any intense public scrutiny, partly because of
the convenient belief that child sex abuse, and incest in particular, was not
very common and partly because it was mistakenly assumed the problem was
confined to the ‘lower classes’ or that it was a ‘rural’ phenomenon.”
Following the mention of research
conducted in the USA and Britain the article goes on, explaining the long-term
effects of child sex abuse on the victims:
“The long-term psychological and
physical damage to children who have been incestuously abused – whether on one
occasion or repeatedly over a number of year by a father, brother or other
relative – can be irreparable. It can force the child into actions which may be
wrongly interpreted by parents and professionals alike as delinquency-related
problems i.e. drug or alcohol abuse, running away from home and general rebelliousness.
“Tragically, some children and
adolescent victims feel that their only way to escape the prospect of continued
abuse and the associated feelings of fear, shame and guilt is to commit
suicide. There are the children who suffer in silence, whose trust in personal
relationships is betrayed and whose right to protection within the family home
are violated.
“Often when the child begins to
realise that something is ‘wrong’ or is not ‘natural’ in the way they are being
abused, they begin to feel they are the guilty ones. Regrettably, some children
who reveal their account of the abuse to a parent, relative or person in
authority like a teacher, are dismissed, ignored or regarded as indulging in a
mere ‘childish fantasy’.”
This comment by Maeve Armstrong,
that victims of child sex abuse are often not taken serious reminded me
strongly of Maíria Cahill words who alleged that at one stage Gerry Adams said
to her:
“Well you know, Maíria, abusers
can be extremely manipulative. And you know, sometimes they are that
manipulative that the people who have been abused actually enjoy it.”
Yet, as Armstrong writes, this is
not the only reaction possible:
“Alternatively, if the child is believed
he/she is inevitably totally unprepared for the tidal wave of reaction and
emotion he/she has unwittingly released on themselves and the family.”
Reading this article thirty years
after its publication, I cannot help thinking that it is Armstrong explaining
how totally unprepared this particular family, the republican family, stumbled
into a situation of recognising the up until then “ignored problem of child sex
abuse” within their own ranks. Indeed, what Armstrong explains in the following
paragraph is the behaviour, parents show in these situations; and her words can
similarly be used to explain the behaviour some members of the Republican
Movement showed in relation to allegations of child sex abuse. Armstrong
writes:
“In this situation, parents may
be placed in the agonising position of being torn between the love and loyalty
they have, on the one hand to protect their children from further abuse and on
the other to protect other family members from prosecution. As the vast
majority of the victims of incest are girls, it is usually the mother who is
put in this position.”
Or, it is rather the Republican
Movement who is put in this situation, if the accused is a republican activist?
Armstrong continues:
“Once the problem is out on the
open, the child, not the offender, can feel a tremendous amount of guilt as
they wrongly feel responsible for causing trouble in their home, if not for the
actual splitting up of their family if the offender is imprisoned.”
As it is well known, PIRA’s Civil
Administration did not take prisoners. Nevertheless, a child abuser within its
own ranks? Trouble in the republican home? Splitting up the republican family?
All these would have been highly counterproductive scenarios for a movement,
engaged in a war against the oldest colonial power in the world, Britain.
Consequently, there was only one way out to avoid causing a situation as
outlined by Armstrong, namely trouble in the republican family. This way out
was to deal with the allegations internally and half-hearted, sweep it under
the carpet, and clear the name of the offender.
Civil war situations demand harsh
and quick answers from revolutionary leaders often ill-prepared and sometimes
ill-advised to deal with the new circumstances. Thus, it came to a situation
within the Republican Movement that can be describes as following: Resolving
incest within their own ranks can wait until after the war is won.
Armstrong continues:
“The child can also be subjected
to the unpleasant and disturbing ordeal of thorough questioning in a police
barracks and a medical examination, never mind the actual court appearance – if
it goes that far – which can be very traumatic.
“However, at with the issue of
rape, very few offenders appear before the courts and when they do the onus of
proof is unfairly balanced against the child who has no right to legal
representation – the law defining that he/she is merely a ‘witness’ to the
crime.
“Given Irish society’s rigid
attitudes to the role of men and women, we must begin a process of re-education
if we are to successfully tackle, and most importantly prevent, this
underestimated and serious problem, which, as republican, we cannot ignore.”
The article ends here, and
Armstrong is completely right, child sex abuse and rape are serious issues, no
political activist, socialist, republican, or otherwise can ignore.
In general, the article on child
sex abuse by Maeve Armstrong raises some important points still relevant for
todays’ controversy. First, she urges to the end the silence on child sex
abuse, incest, and rape within society. Second, she stresses that work to
prevent child sex abuse and rape from happening must be undertaken. Third, she
highlights the physical and psychological long-term effects of sexual abuse for
the victims. Fourth, she shows that it is broader societal phenomenon, not
confined to any classes or areas. Fifth, she outlines the problems victims face
in addressing the issue of sexual abuse, in particular the hardship for
children who far too often are frightened to speak out. Sixth, she mentions the
problems caused for families both of victims and offenders in dealing and
coping with the issue if sexual abuse, and in particular, if both, the victim
and the offender, are from the same family, living in the same household.
Finally, she stresses the need for republicans to successfully tackle and
prevent incest, child sex abuse, and rape.
Indeed, this article and these
seven aspects given by Armstrong show that the problem of incest and child sex
abuse was known and debated in the Republican Movement thirty years ago. Although
Armstrong’s article not directly mentions that this problem existed within
republican circles at that time, one can imagine that child sex abuse by
republicans was at least known. This suggestion is not only underlined by
Armstrong’s article but also by Gerry Adams’s comments at the 1984 Ard-Fheis of
Sinn Féin.
In conclusion, Armstrong indicates
a then – and still – widely ignored problem within Irish society and the
republican community. Moreover, rather than just indicating this problem, she
stresses the need to prevent further cases of child sex abuse, incest, and
rape. By doing this she points the finger in the right direction. Unfortunately,
it seems that even thirty years after the publication of this article in An Phoblacht, some Irish republicans
still have not read Armstrong’s article carefully enough.
The chances in the 1980s of an alleged sexual offence, in the UK generally, going to trial after being reported to the police was slim, the chances of a conviction slimmer and the chances of a custodial sentence slimmer still. The length of the sentences if any were short.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly conviction rates for reported sex crimes as a percentage were in single figures but I would be interested if anyone has the actual figures. Before 1992 I think a man couldn't legally rape his wife. Today judges blame pre-teens youngsters of wearing "provocative clothing".
We are getting better as a society in dealing with sexual crime however the justice system is still flawed today. Today the conviction rates put off some victims who don't want to go through a court case for nothing.
The attitude of judges and the adversarial style of our courts treats many victims atrociously. To go through that for no result is a great risk. I have great respect for those who have the gumption to do so.
During the Troubles the legal system was more inept than today's and that was coupled with a risk of being mistreated by the police as a vulnerable victim. We can only see from Kincora where the authorities allegiance lay.
This demonstrates that the conflict has more secondary victims, more who weren't victims of the violence per se but who were failed by the situation. There was a legal, democratic and political deficit due to the opposing sides and their interests. There were also problems with practicality.
People were failed. I think a truth recovery process is the only way forward but I am repulsed at the thought of sexual offenders going unpunished. However as a country we need to get to find out exactly what went on.
Very good article.
ReplyDeleteGood detailed article. There is a dread of facing this issue in Ireland. Cannot see how Adams was unaware of it on the one hand and then used his dads sexual depravity when necessary to try and get out of a ruinous situation when Liam's case hit the headlines on the other. The parties in the south have no better a track record on the sexual abuse issue. It certainly seems to have been widespread in Britain and Ireland.
ReplyDeleteNone of this has impacted noticeably on the SF vote. People are perhaps more aware of this issue than Adams cares to admit he was. They also want a change from the 'usual' suspects in the Dail. If nothing else SF may be the 'tools' to provide the long over due clean out. Wonder how many TDs will take their 330,000 euro retirement golden hand shake before the next election.