Poppy says abused children in mental health units felt ‘it wasn’t even worth telling anyone’ about the abuse
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Poppy had a serious eating disorder and as a child she spent long periods of time in secure children’s mental health units.
She describes a feeling of resignation and acceptance among the children in the unit that abuse of all kinds was normal in these institutions.
Poppy says ‘When I was in child mental health services it was so well known that abuse was widespread – people would talk about which units were the worst’.
She adds that abuse did not occur in all the units, and where it did, not all the staff were abusive. After her first placement, she was sent to another unit which was very far from her home. ‘It was notorious’ she says.
The unit ran very strict behavioural modification programmes. Poppy explains ‘When you arrived you were stripped of all privileges and possessions. There were no visits allowed. There were rules about what you could read, when you could speak and you had to earn everything’.
She continues ‘In eating disorder services, the way you earned privileges was by gaining weight’.
Poppy’s parents were told when they dropped her off that people with eating disorders would lie and manipulate, and they should not believe anything she told them. She says the units ‘attracted a lot of people who were very abusive – knowing that if children are mentally ill, no one will believe them’.
At night, a male member of staff would visit the locked rooms of certain children and sexually abuse them. Poppy comments ‘He would pick out children who were a long way from home – people like me. Or those who had self-harmed, who had other mental health stuff going on’.
The unit was closed during some public holidays, and some children were taken home by members of staff in an informal fostering arrangement. On one of these occasions Poppy was sexually abused. She says ‘You knew it went on … it was almost expected’.
Poppy relates that children and young people, including herself, were often given high doses of sedatives.
She feels that for abusers ‘... it was the perfect set-up; no one would believe you, there was no way to contact trusted adults; all phone calls and letters screened … you had no chance of telling anyone … it was like you had committed a crime and you were going to be punished for it’.
Poppy adds ‘Children with [eating disorders] often look younger than they are and I think there is a particular group of predators who seem to be attracted to this’.
She tried to find a record that she was registered as a ‘detained child’ but was told this wasn’t done at the time.
After her experiences and what she witnessed, Poppy would like there to be a specific inquiry into the abuse of children in mental health units and services in the 1980s and 90s. She says that victims and survivors would need support and encouragement to come forward and share their experiences, because they will expect to be disbelieved or seen as unreliable.
She would also like to see stricter safeguarding processes in mental health care.
Poppy concludes by saying ‘I am lucky now. I have friends and family, and a good career. I got lucky and survived in a way some people didn’t’.