Victims of abuse at state-run institutions ‘forgotten about’, says campaigner

Victims of abuse at state-run institutions feel forgotten about, a Stormont committee has heard.

Cyril Glass of the group Survivors Together appeared for the first time at the Executive Office committee.

He told MLAs that he felt most of the focus following the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry was on homes run by religious orders and organisations.

The inquiry found evidence of violent and sexual abuse at a number of state-run institutions, including the former Millisle Borstal in Co Down and Kincora Boys’ Home in east Belfast.

“Survivors Together was formed because we felt that we didn’t really have a voice for what would be seen as state-run institutions … predominantly Protestants seemingly forgotten about,” he told MLAs.

“I’ve had members of my group come to me and say things like, ‘Whiteabbey Training School, no-one knows about us’, and other training schools, Rathgael Training School, Millisle Borstal, Hydebank, different places, just simply forgotten about.

“Most people that know about institutional childhood abuse think about the Catholic Church, they don’t think about the state, what the state have done, and we feel like we’re forgotten about. We’re very concerned about that.”

Mr Glass was also critical of a public apology to victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse issued in 2022 by Stormont ministers in the then absence of a first and deputy first minister.

“Survivors Together refused to go to the public apology, first of all because there was a review going on with the redress system at that time, and we also believed that government weren’t taking full responsibility,” he said.

“We would have preferred that the secretary of state made that apology.”