The recent publication of the report of the Scoping Inquiry into historical sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders once again highlighted the historic failure of the State to protect its most vulnerable citizens.
Amidst an outpouring of public grief and anger, the Government announced plans for the establishment of a full State Inquiry.
But some of those who contacted the Inquiry team also sought to highlight the physical abuse they experienced while attending schools around the country. They were told that their alleged abuse fell outside the scope of the Inquiry team.
Leathered is a landmark RTÉ documentary which shines a new light on the use of Corporal Punishment in Irish schools, and the impact which the culture of violence it provoked continues to have on generations of Irish students.
Documentary maker John Downes critically examines new alleged abuses in religious and lay schools involving pupils who to this day harbour physical and mental scars.
With first person testimony from survivors who have never spoken before about their ordeals and unique archive illustrating a formative period in Irish history, this timely documentary will give voice to abuses that to date have not been fully acknowledged or understood.
It also asks what else can be done to help the victims of physical abuse in our school system, some of whom have never recovered from their experiences at the hands of the same people who were meant to be keeping them safe.
