Many men whose lives have been devastated by the sexual abuse suffered as children at the hands of scout leaders have told their stories to The Irish Times.
When the historical child sex abuse scandal that rocked Scouting Ireland broke in 2018, senior figures in the organisation privately stressed there was no desire to put survivors through bitter court battles for redress. Seven years later, many are still waiting and fighting.
More than 350 people reported being sexually abused as children in the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and the Scout Association of Ireland, which merged to form Scouting Ireland in 2004.
The true number of people molested by scout leaders is likely to be higher, given the reluctance to report childhood abuse. A review by child protection expert Ian Elliott concluded the abuse had been covered up for decades to protect the reputation of the movement.
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About 70 alleged victims are suing Scouting Ireland to seek compensation for what happened to them as children. The number is still increasing, with the most recent case lodged this April.
Solicitors representing alleged victims say Scouting Ireland has been aggressively contesting any legal cases taken by survivors.
[ Scouting Ireland opted against ‘non-adversarial’ abuse survivors scheme ]
In the two known civil cases where the organisation paid out settlements, both were only resolved at the last minute after High Court trials began.
Abuse survivors say these lengthy legal fights for redress are compounding their pain.
“The toll is absolutely devastating,” said one man who took a case five years ago.
“They promised me that I wasn’t going to be dragged through the court process,” he said.
Scouting Ireland did not respond to questions about its approach to cases taken by abuse survivors.
Financial settlements in historical abuse cases commonly run into six-figure sums. The legal fees to defend so many civil cases will also be significant.
At the outset of the scandal, Mr Elliott advised Scouting Ireland to set up a victim support scheme as an alternative to “adversarial” court fights.
The idea was to work with survivors to help them heal. His internal proposal, seen by The Irish Times, said this scheme could include making financial payments.
Mr Elliott, who led safeguarding reforms of the Catholic Church, said those who had been abused in legacy scouting associations needed to be “engaged on a human level”.
“This cannot happen if you rely on a lawyer to respond to a victim. If you do, you are immediately embarking on a confrontation and challenge approach, which is extremely costly and very damaging for the survivors,” he wrote.
Should Scouting Ireland opt to take the same defensive path as other institutions hit by abuse scandals, it would not survive the crisis, Mr Elliott said.
The voluntary organisation does not have financial wealth on the scale of the Church or the State, so setting up a redress scheme would be very complex.
It seems Scouting Ireland instead opted to buy time by robustly contesting any legal cases that were filed. This would allow it to spread the cost of settlements paid to survivors out over many years.
Their instinct is to protect the future of the youth organisation, which tens of thousands of children enjoy today as members of cub and scout groups.
In 2020, the organisation made an unambiguous public apology to victims of abuse. It stated: “We want you to know that you are believed. We want you to know that we will support you.”
That has not been the experience of many survivors who have rightly sought some redress for the devastating abuse they suffered as children.
