Welcome to our latest update
I am pleased to share this update on our recent work to support victims and survivors of non‑recent/historical institutional child abuse. In recent months, we have continued to strengthen outreach, raise awareness and ensure that the voices and needs of victims and survivors – whether they live in Northern Ireland or elsewhere – are amplified.
We remain deeply grateful to individual victims and survivors, survivor groups and their representatives and to my Advisory Panel. As always, your insights continue to shape our priorities and guide the work we do. This period has seen significant developments. I was honoured to speak at the unveiling of the State memorial at Parliament Buildings – a poignant reminder of the courage and conviction of survivors and their belief that the truth needed to be told. We owe all of you our thanks.
We also published the results of our consultation on supports and services to victims and survivors. The findings reinforce a clear message: access to vital, trauma‑informed, specialist and general supports and services must be safeguarded and sustained as survivors’ needs evolve.
Speaking to the Committee for the Executive Office and the First Minister and deputy First Minister, I outlined this message, as well as our ongoing work and the further steps required to ensure survivors’ needs continue to be recognised and addressed in the years ahead.
We have also launched a new awareness initiative to ensure that victims and survivors know what supports and services they are entitled to and how to access them.
You can read more about all of these developments below. Thank you again for your continued support.
Honouring the “courage and resilience” of survivors of historical institutional child abuse at State memorial
In February, I spoke at the memorial event in Stormont dedicated to victims and survivors of historical institutional child abuse. The memorial was a recommendation of the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry.
In my remarks, I offered profound thanks to victims and survivors for their courage in campaigning for the truth that needed to be told. I also paid tribute to victims and survivors who have passed, many never getting the chance to speak about their experiences or to have the abuse they experienced as children finally acknowledged by institutions and the State.
I also spoke about those victims and survivors who have left Northern Ireland,
many of whom have told me that they felt forgotten by the place they came from.
The memorial stands as a reminder of when systems fail children and the harm
children experience as a result.
You can watch my full remarks at the memorial event here.
Supports and services for victims and survivors must be protected as needs grow
I am pleased to let you know that our Consultation on Supports and Services to Victims and Survivors of Non-Recent/Historical Institutional Child Abuse has been published.
The consultation sought the experiences and views of victims and survivors to understand what supports and services they currently use, the challenges they face and how they think their needs might change as they grow older.
I want to thank victims and survivors who took the time to share their experiences and views in our consultation. Their insights have been invaluable in helping us to better understand their lived experience of supports and services and what they need going forward.
One of the clearest messages to emerge is the central role that a spectrum of supports and services play in the lives of victims and survivors - from specialist provision to general health services and community or family‑based supports.
The views shared through this consultation highlight how essential it is that access to trauma‑informed supports and services is sustained throughout their lives.
In this short video I reflect on what victims and survivors shared with us during the consultation and why their insights matter for future policy and practice.
Looking ahead, we will publish a series of focused reports exploring key chapters of the consultation on areas such as physical health, mental health, housing and residential care and I look forward to keeping you updated as this progresses.
You can read more about the consultation on our website.
Awareness raising on supports and services to victims and survivors
My team and I were pleased to launch another awareness raising initiative across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Ireland. We distributed nearly 800 information packs to MLAs, MPs, community centres, leisure centres, advice agencies, as well as TDs and Senators in the Republic of Ireland. We also shared the packs with Irish support organisations across Britain.
Our goal is to ensure that victims and survivors know that support is available. Many people may be eligible for supports and services, including help with health, wellbeing and practical needs, but may not realise what they can access or how to find it. This initiative is about sharing clear information, removing barriers and making sure victims and survivors understand their entitlements to supports and services, whether they applied for redress or not, or whether they live in Northern Ireland or elsewhere.
Presenting the needs of victims and survivors to the Committee for the Executive Office
At the start of March, I delivered a briefing to the Committee for the Executive Office, outlining the ongoing work of my Office to support victims and survivors of non-recent/historical institutional child abuse. I also set out the further steps required to ensure the needs of victims and survivors continue to be recognised and addressed in the years ahead. In the session, I highlighted the critical importance of accessible, long-term supports and services and the need for supports and services to be trauma informed. You can watch my remarks here.
Welcoming Government support for Philomena’s Law
I welcomed the recent announcement by the UK Government to back Philomena’s Law. This new law will ensure that applicants to the Republic of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Redress Scheme living in Britain won’t lose their means-tested benefits. This is an important vindication of the tireless campaigning by Philomena Lee with the support of Liam Conlon MP, agencies working throughout Britain with Irish communities and Patricia Carey, Special Advocate for Survivors in the Republic of Ireland.
“Seeing the Unseen: Justice for Survivors of Institutional Child Abuse”
Thank you to Queen’s University Belfast for the reflective piece, “Seeing the Unseen: Justice for Survivors of Institutional Child Abuse,” published as part of its 180 Years of Stories series. The piece also features as part of a wider bus shelter campaign highlighting this important work.
The article outlines how I drew on my collaboration with Professor Anne Marie McAlinden from the School of Law at Queen’s University to inform and strengthen my advice to Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on the state apology to victims and survivors of historical institutional child abuse. You can read the full article here.
Nexus Annual Conference
Staff from the Office attended the Nexus Annual Conference 2026 – Unmasking Sexual Abuse: Uncomfortable Truths in Belfast in February. The conference, which was held during Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week, placed lived experience at the heart of learning about sexual abuse and how to respond to it. We were pleased to join partners from the Victims and Survivors Service, WAVE Trauma and Advice NI at the conference and valued the opportunity to take part in a space that centred survivor-led insight, discussion and practical learning to strengthen support and prevention across our communities.
Visiting the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
My team and I visited the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland to learn more about how records are stored, preserved and accessed. PRONI is the official archive for Northern Ireland and plays an important role in holding records that may be significant for victims and survivors seeking information. During the visit, discussions focused on how records are managed and the processes in place to support people requesting access to their own information. Individuals can request records held by PRONI through a Subject Access Request. The PRONI catalogue can help identify whether records relating to a particular institution or time period are held, and further support is available through PRONI’s enquiry service.
Commissioner meets Assist NI to discuss shared priorities for victims and survivors
I was pleased to meet with Michelle Martin, Director of Services from domestic and sexual abuse advocacy service Assist NI earlier this year. It was a productive meeting where we discussed shared priorities regarding supports to victims and survivors as well as exploring opportunities to strengthen collaboration further in the months ahead.
In addition to this engagement, I will also be undertaking a range of other policy meetings in the near future to discuss the ongoing consultation on supports and services.
Seeking support
If you need advice or support, our website provides contact details for a wide range of support organisations that may be able to help with different issues www.cosica-ni.org/support.
Specialist supports can include:
- Counselling and complementary therapies
- Social support, including social activities and befriending
- Personal development, such as education and training opportunities
- Records search and information recovery
I would like to encourage anyone who is eligible for supports and services to contact my Office if they would like more information.
Thank you.
Fiona Ryan
Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse