A woman who was sexually abused while under a care order when she was a minor has been awarded €70,000 in damages by a court, which said that no financial compensation could fix the damage caused by the state’s shortcomings.  

Elena*, now 35, sued the state advocate and the Foundation for Social Welfare Services for failing to protect her when they should have.

More than 20 years since the abuse, the woman suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and emotionally unstable personality disorder.

In her suit, she claimed the state failed to investigate multiple allegations of sexual assault and subjected her to inhumane and degrading treatment by admitting her to Mount Carmel Hospital as a punishment.

The victim was raped three times, aged 12, 14 and at 15, when she was even tied with cable ties.

The First Hall of the Civil Court upheld her complaint, noting among others that lack of immediate and effective action by the state entity breached Article 3 of the European Convention of human rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment, or punishment. Additionally, it also breached her right to private and family life as inscribed in the same convention.

The FSWS denied the allegations and asked the court to desist from deciding on the case as Elena had other means of redress, adding that the woman was abusing of the judicial process.

The court, presided over by Madam Justice Joanne Vella Cuschieri, said no financial compensation, however large, could make do for the mental damage that Elena suffered as a result of the shortcomings of the state, of which she became a victim.

‘The system failed her’

The abuse started from a very early age. Elena was put under care order at the age of seven after being exploited by her family members.

She was placed at a residential home, but unlike fellow residents, she could not spend the weekends with her relatives. The state did not provide alternative placement, so she spent the weekends at her social worker’s home.

Elena, represented in court by lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic, claims that when she was 12, she was raped by her social worker’s husband.

“I remember I was really scared, and I was unsure whether to go to the police station. I climbed into bed and that was the last night I slept at theirs,” she told the court.

She recalled that the following day, the social worker asked her whether her husband had done anything to her, adding that she would send him to jail.

Although the Care Orders Board eventually learnt about the claim of abuse and she got a new social worker, the case was not reported to the police and the board instead ordered an internal investigation.

The more abuse she suffered, the more she was scared to speak

Elena told the court she was left in the dark about the board’s conclusion, and only learnt it had not been decided in her favour when the 12-year-old received a legal letter from the social worker’s family warning her to stop lying. She recalled spending the following days in tears and feeling all alone at the children’s home.

She was raped a second time in Valletta by a young man when she was 14. Elena tried resisting the aggressor but remained unsure whether she was being abused, knowing that when something similar had happened to her in the past, no one had believed her.

“The psychotherapist nowadays tells me that I was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and was in a state of confusion,” she told the court.

On that day, Elena fled the scene and returned to the residential home covered in blood. Her new social worker reported the case to the police, however, the ensuing criminal case was dropped when the perpetrator died years later.

Referring to the girl’s weak mental state, in its final judgment, the court noted that since she believed she was in the wrong, Elena thought the young man had the right to do all he did with the 14-year-old because she had not said “no”.

It was around this time when Elena was admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital. According to Care Orders Board minutes, the psychiatrist who examined her had said Elena did not need to be admitted there, however, he did not exclude sending her to Mount Carmel “purely as a warning”.

'Tied with cable ties'

Elena was raped for the third time while still a minor. She recalls being tied with cable ties and raped by two youths who knew the previous perpetrator. One of these young men admitted he abused the girl when confronted by her social worker, who in turn reported the rape to the FSWS. Again, the police were not informed.

Elena’s care order was lifted when she was 16, however she “never stopped suffering”.

“The consequences of these cases persisted. To this day I still see a psychotherapist every six weeks, and I have also been prescribed medical treatment.”

A psychotherapist who is still in touch with Elena confirmed she had developed a sense of distrust in professionals.

“She did not go through one or two traumas, but it seems that the system failed her,” she told the court, adding that when she was a teenager, Elena’s defences were very strong.

“She was perceived as difficult. Nothing, nothing justifies the abuse. On the contrary, she would have needed more care.”

A person who never received parental guidance about security, would not recognise danger, the psychotherapist said, adding that in her naivety, Elena might have found herself in situations she did not realise were dangerous.

Had she had a supportive family, or someone who guided her well, she would not have taken so many risks.

“She was always seen as being the problem. So the more abuse she suffered, the more she was scared to speak to people who could help her, as she felt that they would say ‘see, there she goes again, see what Elena did again’.”

Another psychiatrist meanwhile noted that Elena, nowadays a mother herself, was a survivor.

However, several things, such as visiting her hometown, could trigger her post-traumatic stress disorder.

The court said it had enough proof that lack of action by the state had seen Elena suffering mental problems for the rest of her life. At times she was also suicidal.

Had the first report of abuse been taken seriously and the police brought in to investigate, and had Elena been afforded support for what she had been through, she would not have ended up in the mental state she was in.

The court said it hoped there are no other children who either were or are under the state’s care who went through or are still going through the calvary that Elena went through at such a young age.

* Name has been changed