The Scottish Parliament has been warned that 'time is running out' to get justice for hundreds of Glasgow women who were abused at a residential school as children.
The experiences of the survivors of Fornethy House were recounted by Colin Smyth MSP during a debate in Holyrood on Thursday where he described a 'litany of failures' faced by the girls.
The MSP called for the abuse that occurred at the home to be 'properly acknowledged' and for answers to be sought on how the school was allowed to operate.
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Opened in August 1960, after being gifted to Glasgow City Council (known then as Glasgow Corporation) by the Coats family, Fornethy House was to be used to support disadvantaged girls from Glasgow. Instead, the children were physically, mentally, and sexually abused by those entrusted to look after them.
Over a decade after the home shut down, the first survivors began to speak out, creating a group that has since become a lifeline to the women who carried their experiences of Fornethy with them throughout their lives.
A number of their stories were told in Parliament including Fiona, who was force-fed her own vomit at the age of seven, and Roseanna, who was sent to Fornethy three times from the age of eight. Her skin was scrubbed until it bled and she was refused water.
Mr Smyth told the Parliament that "justice should have been brought before now" and called on Glasgow City Council to meet with the women.
He added: "My appeal to the police, to the procurator fiscal, to the crown office is to leave no stone unturned until these women get justice before it is too late.
"These women have had nothing but barrier, after barrier, after barrier put in their way, when they should have had answers.
"Before they were sent to Fornethy, they all had medicals. But they were never told why they were sent. And according to Glasgow City Council, no records of those girls' time at Fornethy now exist.
"The records are likely to have been destroyed we are told. And despite the many acts, statutes, regulations, and supervisory bodies and despite it being described by the council in Glasgow at the time as a residential school, it seems Fornethy escaped inspection.
"No one it seems properly established the place they were sending thousands of girls to, was safe to do so. What a litany of failures.
"Those women need answers. Why were they sent there? Why was this allowed to happen? And if that needs an independent inquiry, then so be it."
Mr Smyth also called for the Scottish Government to expand its Redress for Survivors scheme to include children in short-term or holiday care.
He added: "This was a residential school. Those wee girls were sent there not by their parents but as a result of the intervention of the council. And when they were there, they were in the care of the council. This was state-sponsored abuse.
"The failure to explicitly include what happened at Fornethy in the redress scheme, sends a signal that somehow that horrific, serial abuse was somehow less serious than other forms of abuse that took place under the so-called care of the state- and that the state was somehow less responsible."
Rona MacKay MSP added: "Having records of original documentary information would, without doubt, strengthen any application for redress. I ask Glasgow City Council to intensify its work to find out if any information is still held by the city council as a successor to the Glasgow Corporation.
"We have an obligation to air and confront all we can to remedy the suffering these women faced."
Lynn Sheerin, one of the children sent from Glasgow to the home in Angus for 'short-term respite care' said that the debate has given the group hope that justice could be in sight.
Lynn told Glasgow Live: "It feels surreal to have heard our story told to a room full of MSPs. We got so much support from across all the parties.
"There were some MSPs who were actually brought the tears hearing about what happened to us for the first time. They said sorry to us and told us they would be happy to take it all the way which means so much.
"It was good to know that we have their support and that they believe us.
"We just hope that things are building momentum now we're closer to finding justice, especially for the older women. We've already lost so many along the way."
Fellow survivor Marion Reid described the debate as a "big, big step" for the group who have been campaigning for years to see their abusers brought to justice.
She told Glasgow Live: "I thought this was never going to happen but we got there eventually, I was really losing hope. We have been believed and that is a big thing."
Police Scotland have confirmed that a 74-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with allegations of non-recent child abuse at Fornethy House
She was due to appear at Forfar Sheriff Court on May 11.
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