Member Of Islington Survivors Network Successfully Sues Local Authority For Abuse In Children's Home

• Published date: 06 August 2020
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Criminal Law, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Crime
• Law Firm: Leigh Day
• Author: Leigh Day

A survivor of childhood abuse at an Islington children's home has won her claim against Islington Council and will receive compensation.

Claire, not her real name, spent her childhood in living in care at Gisburne House - a large children's home run by Islington Council in Watford.

While there she was subjected to sexual abuse by members of staff and another child resident.

The Superintendent of the home, Geoffrey Wylde-Jones, now deceased, was one of those said to have committed a number of serious sexual assaults upon Claire.

Other survivors of abuse have previously named him as a perpetrator.

Islington Council initially sought to reject Claire's claim, putting forward a repudiation.

Leigh Day solicitors pressed ahead with obtaining medical evidence and supportive witness evidence from former Islington social workers. Settlement was eventually agreed at '35,000 and Claire has also requested an individual apology from the Council.

Leigh Day is bringing compensation claims on behalf of a number of former care leavers of Islington's children's homes.

The law firm also represents Islington Survivors Network (ISN) in its fight to have a comprehensive redress scheme established for former Islington care leavers affected by the Council's past failure to protect vulnerable children.

The Islington child abuse scandal was first exposed in the early 1990s in a series of reports by the Evening Standard.

In September 2017, Cllr Richard Watts, the Leader of the Council, admitted that the local authority was culpable for abuse in its children's homes and spoke about righting the wrongs of the past.

Thanks to the efforts of ISN, support for their members was put in place by way of the Islington Survivors' Trauma Service and Islington Survivors' Support Services, however, as of yet, a full redress scheme has still not been established, meaning that for those members who wish to obtain...