Historical Abuse—A Contemporary Issue: Compiling Inquiries into Abuse and Neglect of Children in Out-of-Home Care Worldwide

Since the 1990s, abuse and neglect in institutions and in foster homes for children in out-of-home care have been reviewed by inquiries and truth commissions in several countries. State and federal or regional commissions have interviewed, set up hearings with, or collected written submissions from people who claim to have been subjected to abuse and neglect whilst in care. In many respects, truth commissions and inquiries into past abuse and neglect share features characteristic of transitional justice processes. However, said inquiries and truth commissions have only occasionally attracted attention in the broad scholarly field of transitional justice. The aim of the article is to compile inquiries into abuse and neglect in out-of-home care that have been conducted worldwide in order to frame the historical context in which these inquiries and truth commissions were set up. Furthermore, this article argues that a comparative perspective can highlight important epistemological issues, such as what knowledge is produced in the inquiry reports and how an historical understanding of past abuse and neglect of children in out-of-home care is framed. The article points out some possible areas for future research that may constitute a new interdisciplinary field within the field of transitional justice.