Inquiry Könnun á starfsemi Breiðavíkurheimilisins 1952–1979

Alternative Name
  • Survey of the activities of the Breiðavík home 1952–1979
Inquiry Type
Special Commission
Location
Iceland

Key Dates

1952 - 1979
Period of investigation
13 February 2007
Announcement date
April 2007 - January 2008
Period of operation
31 January 2008
Final Report

Details

In February 2007, press and television news in Iceland reported the stories of abuse of several men who had lived at the correctional institution for boys in Breiðavík. In response, the government submitted a bill to the Althingi (parliament) to authorise a Commission that would conduct a comprehensive examination of the operation of the Breiðavík home from the 1950s to the 1970s, and, subsequently, of similar institutions and special schools where children stayed.

The specific terms given to the Commission were:

  • to investigate the conditions under which children were kept at the Breiðavík home;
  • to ascertain, as far as possible, whether the children in Breiðavík in the years 1950-1980 were subjected to ill-treatment and/or violence during their stay;
  • to assess the official supervision of the Breiðavík home during the period covered by the survey;
  • and to to lay the basis for a proposal to the government for further responses.

The Process
There were six main components to the process of the survey:

  1. obtaining documentary data from public institutions and reports by experts;
  2. Commission members' field trip to Breiðavík (June 2007);
  3. interviews with the persons who were kept as children at Breiðavík;
  4. interviews with former employees of the Breiðavík home and other public servants;
  5. analysis of information obtained in the form of data, oral testimony and expert opinions;
  6. evaluation and presentation of proposals and other responses.

Governing Legislation
Law no. 26/2007

Research
Bragi Guðbrandsson, director of the Children's Protection Agency, was commissioned to write a comprehensive report on the history of educational institutions in Iceland and the main issues with child protection in the years covered by the Commission's survey.

The Ministry of Social Affairs provided a report on the legal environment of child protection matters and implementation in the years 1950-1980.

Witnesses
80 care leavers were interviewed (out of 158 children and young people who had resided at Breiðavík), and one submitted a written statement. Statements were taken from 20 former employees (directors, teachers, general workers, public officials).

Gender
Boys

Institutions
Breiðavík boys' home

Findings
The Committee found that it was not feasible to test the veracity of each individual account of abuse, ill-treatment or violence, but instead preferred to give a general assessment of the likelihood and level of abuse, ill-treatment or violence according to period. To do this, it divided the time span 1952 to 1979 into nine periods, according to the director in charge at the time.

It concluded that in the periods 1955-1956 and 1962-1964, there was a higher likelihood of ill-treatment and/or violence by other inmates, that in the period 1956-1962 there was a higher likelihood of ill-treatment and/or violence by other inmates and by employees, and that in the period 1964-1972 there was a higher likelihood of ill-treatment and/or violence by employees; after 1972 the finding was that the likelihood of abuse had diminished.

It was also found that, especially in the years 1952 to 1964, housing, buildings and various facilities at Breiðavík were barely sufficient for the activities that were conducted there. As for provision of the mandatory level of education, it was found that the teaching was insufficient, with the lack of education for residents during their stay reducing their quality of life and future prospects.

Recommendations
The Commission put forward proposals (1) regarding compensation payments by the government to the care-leavers of the Breiðavík home, (2) regarding the continued provision of mental health services to the care-leavers, (3) on improvements in the field of child protection issues, such as implementation of standards to be met by operators and educators in institutions for children, and (4) to continue the Commission's survey according to law no. 26/2007 (for which see Nefndar samkvæmt lögum nr. 26/2007).

Related Inquiries
For the other investigations carried out by the Committee appointed under Law no. 26/2007, see Nefndar samkvæmt lögum nr. 26/2007 and Könnun á vistun barna á Kópavogshæli 1952‒1993.

Commissioners

Countries

Publications

Report

Journal Article

Acknowledgement: this summary was prepared by Katie Wright, La Trobe University