Church of England Apologizes for Sexual Abuse of Hundreds of Girls

Staffers and residents routinely abused hundreds of girls for decades at a Church of England children’s home, according to a disturbing new report.  

The Bishop of Rochester last year commissioned an independent panel to evaluate the alleged abuse at Kendall House in Kent, England. The Church of England ran and funded the home until 1986. 

“The findings of the independent review into Kendall House describe the harrowing regime experienced by numerous girls and young teenagers who were placed into the care of this Church of England home,” Bishop Paul Butler said. Butler is the lead bishop for safeguarding the church.  

“The appalling standards of care and treatment should never have been allowed and on behalf of the national church I apologise unreservedly to all the former residents whose lives were and continue to be affected by their damaging experiences at Kendall House.” 

The abuse began in the early 1960s, according to the report, and continued through the mid-80s when the home closed.  

The report details the horrific abuse as follows: 

Girls as young as 11 were routinely and often without any initial medical assessment, given antidepressants, sedatives and anti-psychotic medication. Often, these drugs were given in dosages which exceeded usual prescribed adult levels. This served to control their behaviour, placing them in a constant stupor, restricting their ability to communicate or to learn, or have any personal autonomy. The drugs put them at risk of numerous side effects, many of which were distressing. The effects of the drugs also increased their vulnerability to emotional, physical and a smaller number of cases, sexual abuse. Those that resisted, challenged or overcame the effects of these routinely administered drugs faced sanction. This included being locked alone in a room for long periods, and emotionally abusive threats and actions. In a number of cases, even the slightest 6 misdemeanours, the typical features of teenagers’ behaviour, were ‘dealt’ with by physical restraint, sometimes violent, and intra-muscular injections of powerfully sedating medication.  

Furthermore:  

With only one exception, every former resident who spoke with us experienced being placed, sometimes forcibly in this locked room. Isolated from their peers, and often heavily sedated, they could be kept in the room for days on end. Every former resident witnessed others being placed in this room. On at least two occasions, girls were placed in straitjackets; others were threatened with transfer to a local mental health hospital. In some cases, threats were enacted, and girls were admitted to the adult ward of the hospital before returning to Kendall House, often traumatised. 

Most residents of the Kendall House were between 11 and 16 years old. Many had troubled backgrounds and hopped from home to home before their arrival.   

Kendall House closed in 1986, but the abuse trauma lives on in hundreds of girls.  

“For many former residents, their background and experience at Kendall House have had damaging life-long effects,” according to the report.  

“These are both emotional and physical and include an inability to trust others, to form relationships, a lack of confidence and having to live with a range of anxieties and fears, many of which have a physical impact on their daily lives. A small number of former residents went on to attempt suicide after living there. The Dioceses of Rochester and Canterbury should take this opportunity to respond with humility to this report, to provide a full apology and seek the forgiveness of all who suffered and who continue to suffer from their experiences at Kendall House. Further, they should do everything possible to ensure such events never happen again,” the report reads.