Child abuse in Scotland: We need a public investigation into allegations of cover-ups, trafficking and organised crime rings – Alison Dickie

“Blood and guts!” I still recall my former boss, George Reid MSP, blaring out these words in the Scottish Parliament chamber.

MSPs must act to ensure children are protected from abuse (Picture: John Devlin)

By championing the ‘Blairingone’ petition, he helped a small community successfully stop a waste contractor spreading sewage and animal waste on their land. Later in my private secretary days, I drafted speeches which promoted the innovative petitions’ system of our young ‘people’s parliament’.

Little did I know then that I would become a petitioner within that very system. Or, that it would be to call for changes to make Scotland safer for our children. The petition will be considered by the Citizenship Participation and Public Petitions Committee next week.

Before I continue, I have a confession… I have moved to the West! Not the wild west (although some may argue otherwise) but the land of salt and vinegar, banter and bucket loads of rain! It’s been a time of change and if I’m honest, I’m still missing the Auld Reekie. This wonderful city was my home for 23 years. It’s where I raised my sons, worked and made good friends among its fabulous people.

But, it’s also where I spent many lonely hours, working to raise the concerns of whistleblowers… work that continues from a distance and now with a growing team of people who are calling for greater scrutiny of allegations relating to children. When I stood down as an Edinburgh councillor last year, I stated that my commitment to this work would be ongoing, so when invited to be a petitioner with others, it felt the natural next step and the right thing to do.

Our petition calls for a public investigation into the alleged mishandling of unresolved child abuse and child protection concerns; a national whistleblowing officer for education and children’s services; and closure of the serious gaps in the existing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

In Edinburgh and across Scotland, whistleblowers and survivors have alleged cover-ups and whitewashes about child protection concerns, and these range from allegations about malpractice to organised criminal child exploitation and trafficking. Whistleblowers have shared their struggle to make their voice heard, faced with what feels like the unlimited resources of public organisations’ defence machines. This petition seeks to walk by their side.

This week, as consideration of our petition loomed, the BBC Disclosure documentary, ‘Beneath the Magic Circle Affair’, was broadcast. It reported on cover-ups of organised child abuse at the top of our legal system. As I listened to the survivors, there are really no words for how the trauma of child abuse changed and impacted their lives, or how long it took for their voices to be finally heard. And then the thought… if it can happen in our legal system, it can happen anywhere!

As petitioners, we believe that we cannot continue with any integrity or assurance about the protection of our children, if we do not decide to finally and independently investigate the allegations of whistleblowers and survivors. It’s only then that others who have suffered in the shadows, or who are still suffering, will have the confidence to come forward.

We call on MSPs to support this petition. We don’t need another documentary in ten years’ time, we need action now. Our children deserve that level of scrutiny.

Alison Dickie is a teacher, who was a councillor for Southside Newington, vice-convener of education, and a Scottish Parliament official