Child Abuse in the Scottish Diaspora: Enabling the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry through Historical Research

Description of impact

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), established in 2015, investigates the historic abuse of children in Scotland, with a view to enable public acknowledgement of the abuse, provide recommendations for legislators and policy makers and improve reporting functions within Scottish care facilities. Drawing deeply on her research, Professor Marjory Harper has provided crucial insight into the historic policies surrounding child emigration and its relevance to the inquiry; particularly by highlighting the abuse suffered by adolescent groups of migrants. She contributed significantly to a co-authored report and contributed an appendix on juvenile migration, which has enabled SCAI to fulfil its statutory duty to apply public scrutiny in this sensitive area.

Outcomes to Date / Future Developments

In October 2015, the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). It follows the ongoing Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) undertaken in England and Wales beginning in 2014. Both were established due to concerns that organisations had failed to protect children in care from sexual abuse. The scope of the Scottish inquiry extends beyond the IICSA in that it considers policies and procedures in respect of the migration of children whose care originated in Scotland and considers also non-sexual and non-physical forms of abuse.

Impact status	Impact Completed (Open)
Impact date	2010 → 2020
Category of impact	Societal