A campaigner who endured horrific abuse at a Fife residential school has accused the Scottish Government of keeping quiet about a new compensation scheme for survivors.
Now Dave Sharp plans to take to the streets of Glenrothes with his own awareness-raising campaign, to ensure no-one misses out on payments.
The 63-year-old was sexually abused by priests over several years when he was a pupil at St Ninian’s School in Falkland in the 1970s.
And he was one of 42 witnesses who gave evidence to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
However, he has slammed the lack of publicity surrounding the new redress scheme, due to launch next month.
And he fears tens of thousands of abuse survivors will be left in the dark unless he steps in.
Redress Scotland will offer payments of up to £100,000 to those who were subjected to abuse while in care.
But Dave said: “Nobody knows about it.
“It’s not been advertised, there’s no awareness campaign, nothing.
“I’m very angry about it.”
Scottish child abuse survivors ‘could miss out on closure’
The Scottish Government says it does plan to raise awareness, but only once the scheme opens for applications.
But Dave added: “There’s so far nothing at government level and thousands of survivors could miss out on closure.
“We’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
Dave now lives in Northampton, where he runs the charity SAFE – Seek and Find Everyone.
He estimates around 100,000 people in Scotland will be eligible for compensation.
But he claims the Scottish Government only expects around 8,000 to come forward.
“Seventy men from St Ninian’s came forward for the abuse inquiry and there are many of these homes in Scotland,” he said,
“We know for a fact that in St Ninian’s most of the boys were from Strathclyde, Dundee and Fife.
“And I firmly believe that if we go out on the streets with these application forms we could reach thousands of people who were sexually abused in childhood.”
Homeless shelters and counselling services are among the places he plans to visit within the next few weeks.
“Many people who suffered abuse don’t know how to deal with it and feel guilt and shame,” said Dave.
“A lot of them turn to drugs and alcohol and end up homeless. That makes them hard to reach.
“I’ll be in Fife for two to three days.”
‘Campaign to raise awareness will be put in place’
Legislation allowing the set-up of the redress scheme was passed in March.
It will be funded primarily by the Scottish Government.
But organisations responsible for the care of children at the time of the abuse are asked to contribute.
The bill aims to provide recognition of the harm caused by historical child abuse in Scotland.
And it also offers apologies and emotional support.
However, it contains a controversial waiver which means those who receive pay-outs cannot then take legal action against the organisations or the Scottish Government.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “A campaign to raise awareness of Scotland’s Redress Scheme will be put in place when it opens for applications.
“This will build on the work already being done to involve and engage survivors in the scheme and on learning gained from the advance payment scheme.”
The advance scheme opened in 2019 for survivors who were terminally ill, or aged over 68, to ensure they were compensated.
And around 700 redress payments have already been made.
The spokesman added: “If anyone wants more information on the redress scheme, or would like to be put on our mailing list for updates, we would encourage them to get in touch.”
To do this, email redress@gov.scot or call 0808 169 9740.