5.A chance meeting between two men who realized they had both been abused in the same Surrey children's care home has led to a campaign that has seen hundreds of former residents claiming they were also victims of physical,emotional and sexual abuse.
Music producer Raymond Stevenson,physically abused during his time at the Shirley Oaks home in the 70s,met a childhood friend last year who revealed he'd been abused at the institution.Within a few months,the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA) was hundreds strong.
The south London production office,from where Stevenson promoted music stars like Jessie J,now looks more like a police incident room.A map on the wall includes details of statements from hundreds of former residents,suggesting physical and emotional abuse was routine at many of the houses on the 72-acre Shirley Oaks site.
"We have been in contact with over 300people and the stories we are getting are just terrible,"Stevenson says."Every time we interview someone and hear about what happened to them,it brings tears to our eyes.Reliving some of the horrors they went through again hasn't been easy."
There have been two major police investigations into abuse at children's homes in South London and three people including a swimming instructor,William Hook,have been condemned for offences relating to Shirley Oaks.
Another operation is currently on-going,but SOSA have lost faith in the authorities who they claim have covered-up the whole picture of abuse at Shirley Oaks."We don't trust them and that's why we have decided to do this campaign ourselves,"Stevenson explains.
The Shirley Oaks campaigners are part of a wider phenomenona"survivor"activism that is changing the balance of power in relation to child abuse.Where once victims were ignored or silenced,now they are coming together,often through social media,forming support groups and building an increase of noise that the authorities are forced to acknowledge.
A couple of weeks ago,dozens of former Shirley Oaks residents crowded into a Lambeth council meetingthe authority which ran the home until its closure in the mid-1980s.Councillor after councillor spoke of their shame at what had been allowed to happen to children in their care.
Among the crowd was the award-winning author Alex Wheatle who has written about the abuse he suffered as a child at Shirley Oaks."We have not come here,to go to war with the council,we have come here to gain your support,"Wheatle told the meeting.
The Shirley Oaks association is doing more than compiling evidence.It is using music to press its case.A song entitled"Don't Touch ItIt's Mine"includes personal testimony (證詞) from victims."I was abused mentally,physically,emotionally and violently,"the track begins."Of the original 16of us,12have killed themselves…"
"We're not going to be told lies anymore,"Stevenson explains."We are not going to leave it in the hands of lawyers,politicians or council officials to tell us what happened to us.We want to discover it ourselves and we know music and dance and poetry are ways that can tell a greater story."
58.Why was SOSA set up?B
A.To show sympathy for the abused children in society.
B.To reveal the abuse at a children's care home.
C.To find the living victims from a care home.
D.To aid those people abused at a young age.
59.The crime against children was not known to the public in time,becauseD.
A.the police refused to look into it
B.the case was ignored for absence of evidence
C.the situation of abuse was not serious
D.the victims were forced to keep secret
60.From the passage,we can tellA.
A.the former local authorities must have neglected their duty
B.twelve of the sixteen children were killed in Shirley Oaks
C.a(chǎn)ll the people committing offences in Shirley Oaks have been arrested
D.the former victims depend much on the police for investigation
61.Campaigners of the SOSA have taken the action ofB.
A.collecting evidence for the police
B.creating music for the campaign
C.going to war with the government
D.turning to lawyers for assistance.