Rape Victim’s Anguish Over Care Home Closure

A teenage rape victim has spoken out against the closure of a care home she claims is her ‘lifeline’. The 16-year-old is housed in a children’s unit in the north of Glasgow where she was promised she would be secure for at least a year.

But now council bosses have told the girl – and two others who stay in the unit – they will be moved to new homes by March.

The girl, who cannot be identified, said: “We’re really distraught and we don’t know who to turn to. I feel like the decision has been made without any regard for our feelings or our futures.”

Glasgow City Council says the unit is closing as part of a £9.1million revamp of the city’s care facilities to bring children’s centres in to line with Care Commission standards. Under the new plan all the city’s 770 children in care will have their own bedrooms with en suite facilities.

But the girls who face losing their home say having secure and stable surroundings is far more important than having a private bathroom. The 16-year-old ended up in care two years ago when problems with her family became too difficult to resolve.

After suffering a brutal rape last year she no longer feels comfortable around men and says that the home, with an all-female staff, is giving her a chance to recover. She added: “Obviously I know that I will have to mix with men very soon but I just need a chance to come to terms with what happened to me.

“My mum and I were fighting all the time and it just wasn’t good for me to be at home, so I was taken into care. It should only have been for three weeks, but I think once you get into the care system it’s very hard to get out. I want to get a job and apply to college to do social work. That was the aim for my time here, but now I’m stuck in limbo because to apply for a job I need a permanent address which I don’t have.” She added: “This place is my lifeline.”

A Glasgow City spokeswoman said: “The unit is a limited facility that will ultimately fail to match Care Commission standards and so a decision has been taken now. The three people who currently live there are older and all have clear care plans for the future, which they have played a full role in developing. However the Director of Social Work will meet them to explain the improvements currently under way in our children’s services.”