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Part 2 of The Record They Buried – And the Woman Who Survived It

“Only marginally looked after.”
“Would be better in care.”
“Emotionally deprived.”
“Clothes dirty. Hair matted. No stimulation at home.”
“She was very frightened when I spoke to her.”
“Pam said she cannot cope.”

These are not the words of one worker on one day.
This is the patterned language of decades of abandonment. Written, signed, typed, and filed by the very institutions meant to intervene.

Kerry’s care records don’t just show failure.
They document complicity.

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1965–1968: Signs That Weren’t Missed — Just Ignored

Catherine (Kerry) enters the care system as a toddler. Early medicals describe her as emotionally flat. Her mother, Pam, admits she’s struggling. The home is known to authorities. Records from this period contain early indicators of harm:

• “Mother admitted hitting the child.”
• “Domestic chores left to Catherine.”
• “Insufficient clothing.”
• “Withdrawn. Nervous. Blinks excessively.”

One note confirms Kerry was seen standing alone in a corridor, cold, as her mother shouted at her inside the flat. Another logs her fear when spoken to, yet no action is taken.

“The child was frightened of me. The mother made jokes that were not funny.”
– Case File, 1968

In another memo, the child care officer writes:

“She does seem to receive her fair share of slaps or more.”
And yet:
“Pam said she would be furious if Catherine was taken away.”

That quote is critical. It reveals what the system feared more than abuse, parental backlash.

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1969–1972: The Era of Delayed Action

This is where the system starts putting everything in writing and doing nothing with it.

• Kerry is said to “miss at least one day per week of school.”
• She appears “withdrawn, hostile, depressed.”
• Her hair is unbrushed, clothes mismatched, shoes too small.
• She’s now described as “a rejected child.”

A health visitor suggests boarding school as a protective measure.
Another says she “should be removed from the home.”

But the response?

“Too old for care without introducing conflict.”
“No suitable placement available.”

Kerry’s behaviour deteriorates. The system’s response is to pathologise her, not protect her. She is called difficult. Disturbed. Disruptive. Not one professional names trauma.

One school report reads:

“We are concerned about the child’s bruising, but we have no firm evidence of neglect.”
– 1970

They had her cowering, blinking, depressed, and missing school and still called it not firm enough.

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1973–1977: They Knew What Was Happening

“I was asked to speak to the boy at the unit who had been sexually interfering with Catherine.”
– Residential staff log, 1974

Rather than triggering a safeguarding response, Kerry was moved.

In 1975, another note reads:

“Catherine stated she was being hit by her mother and that she’s not allowed to talk about what goes on.”
“She had scratches and bruises on her arms.”
“Mother explained it away as fighting with siblings.”

Still no child protection escalation. No removal. No trauma support.

By 1976, the language shifts again:

“The damage has already been done.”
“She’s been in too many homes.”
“She’s unable to form relationships.”

These are the same professionals who moved her in and out of placements, returned her to unsafe homes, and treated her trauma like defiance.

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Language of Complicity

These files show a system fluent in self-protection. The language becomes robotic:

• “No suitable action at this time.”
• “Matter resolved in consultation.”
• “Mother struggling but cooperative.”
• “Child attention-seeking.”

Nowhere in the records do they document love. Affection. Safety.
There are no hugs in these files, only handovers.

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Key Systemic Failures Logged in the Record:

YEAR SYSTEM RESPONSE OUTCOME 1966 Mother admits she can’t cope Child placed in temporary care, then returned 1969 Child missing school weekly No intervention 1970 Observed bruises and scratches No escalation 1972 Described as “rejected child” Mother blamed child — accepted by services 1974 Disclosed sexual interference Child moved, boy not removed 1975 Confirms physical abuse Dismissed as “sibling fights” 1976 Too “old and damaged” for care Left to break silently

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These are not historical oversights.
They are documented decisions to leave a child in harm’s way.

The paper trail is damning.
The only thing missing from it is an apology.

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Part 3 coming next: The Words They Never Asked For – Kerry’s Survivor Words