‘Rape incidents should have never gone unreported’, FSWS says in apology

Social welfare agency apologises to woman raped as a child in State care

“What the honourable constitutional court concluded should not have happened and, worse still, gone unreported. There is no excuse for this”
“What the honourable constitutional court concluded should not have happened and, worse still, gone unreported. There is no excuse for this”

The social welfare agency has “unreservedly” apologised to a woman, who was raped as a child while she was in State care 20 years ago.

The Foundation for Social Welfare Services said the rape incidents should have never gone unreported. Procedures have since been overhauled and reporting abuse is today mandatory for all professionals.

The woman, now 35, was awarded €70,000 in damages by the constitutional court in a judgment handed down last month. Judge Joanne Vella Cuschieri found the State guilty of breaching the woman’s fundamental human rights when it failed to protect her as a child.

When still 12 years old and under a care order, the woman was raped by the husband of her social worker. The social welfare agency at the time was alerted of the accusations but did not refer the case to the police and only carried out an internal investigation.

The child was raped again a few years later by two boys and despite the agency being aware that one of the rapists had admitted to the crime, failed to inform the police.

“Despite the fact that this alleged malpractice happened in 2000, when none of the present management team was even employed by FSWS, the foundation unreservedly apologises to the victim for what she has experienced both when in care and the repercussions thereafter,” the FSWS said in replies to questions by this newspaper. “What the honourable constitutional court concluded should not have happened and, worse still, gone unreported. There is no excuse for this.”

However, when asked whether the court judgment will be appealed, the FSWS said that was a government decision to make. “The judgment found the State at fault and ordered the State to pay compensation to the victim. Thus, it is not up to FSWS to decide what further action should be taken.”

Raped three times

The woman had been placed under a care order when seven years old because of abuse in her family resulting from an alcoholic father.

At the age of 12, she was transferred from an orphanage to St Jean Antide Home that did not cater for weekends at the time. As a result, the child’s social worker used to give her shelter at home on weekends.

It was on one of these weekends that the social worker’s husband sexually abused the child. When the case was flagged to the social welfare agency’s board an internal investigation was launched but no police report filed.

The court judgment shows that the social worker entrusted with the child’s case continued being involved in the case despite the allegations concerning her husband.

The girl only got to know of the outcome of the internal investigation several months later when she received a letter from the lawyer of the social worker asking her to stop spreading lies about the family. The internal investigation dismissed the girl’s claims.

The man was only charged by police years later after the woman spoke up but he was acquitted of the charges when social workers who testified in the case contradicted the victim’s version.

However, while still in the State’s care, the woman had been raped on two other occasions by different people. One case was referred to the police but the perpetrator died in prison before the case ended.

In the third instance, the woman had been raped by two boys who lured her to a house in Hamrun and tied her with cable ties while abusing her in succession.

The court heard how one of the boys had confessed to the crime to the girl’s social worker (different from the first) but when the case was referred to the social welfare agency’s board no police report was filed.

As a result of the trauma the woman suffers from various psychological ailments to this day that could be triggered even by simple things such as visiting the locality where she lived in as a child.

In her decree, Judge Joanne Vella Cuschieri remarked that “no financial compensation, no matter how big it is, can mitigate the mental harm the victim suffered as a result of the State’s failures”.

The judge admonished the State for failing to provide the victim with a family atmosphere where she could grow up like every other child and noted how the first rape allegations were not investigated properly and in a timely fashion, creating a snowball effect of mistrust and vulnerability.

The case raised eyebrows and left many asking why the agency and its social workers did not involve the police at the time and whether it is acceptable for a child to spend time at her social worker’s house.

Mandatory reporting of abuse now law

The FSWS said it has since updated its operating procedures and it is now not possible for a child in care to be taken home by her social worker.

“Nowadays this cannot happen because the current management ensured that clear procedures and practices are put in place and the mandatory reporting makes it a legal obligation for all professionals to report such cases now,” the FSWS said.

The implementation of the Minors Protection (Alternative Care) Act in 2020 and the adoption, earlier this year, of the regulations on mandatory reporting for all professionals in any entity, make it obligatory for abuse to be reported.

There is also the legal obligation for anyone working with children to get clearance that they are not on the sex offenders’ register.

FSWS said the Directorate for Alternative Care (DAC) assesses all potential carers, whether they are homes or foster carers, who then have to be approved by the competent authorities such as the Fostering Board.

“The DAC monitors all carers offering such placements on a regular basis whilst the children have their separate key worker who is, so to speak ‘the guardian’ of their best interests at all times,” the agency said.

FSWS insisted that children in care are now much safer than they have ever been before. “We are not perfect and there will always be more room for improvement. Children in care deserve nothing but the best and we are committed to continue improving our services and to give them nothing but the best to ensure that they are safe at all times.”

The agency has invested in human resources, including specialised training in forensic interviewing in the USA for staff investigating any form of abuse against children.

The agency has for the first time ever engaged a paediatric consultant and two paediatric nurses to medically follow all children in care.