The Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse represents and promotes the interests of victims and survivors who were abused as children in residential institutions in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995. Fiona Ryan was appointed as Commissioner in 2020 by the First and Deputy First Ministers. The Office of the Commissioner is focused on providing information to victims and survivors, raising awareness of their rights and entitlements and advocating for lifelong access to vital supports and services. One of the Commissioner’s key responsibilities is to encourage the provision and coordination of relevant services to victims and survivors in Northern Ireland, including consideration of current levels of provision and identification of gaps. The role of the Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Child Abuse was a recommendation of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry and is set out in the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019, which provides the Commissioner with a number of statutory powers:
Since its creation in 2020, the Office has engaged with approximately 1,200 victims and survivors. One in five people contacting the Office are survivors of child abuse outside its current remit. |
