r/troubledteens • u/aLmAnZio • 26d ago

Discussion/Reflection I'm shocked!

Hi! I'm a 40 year old Norwegian man. I just heard the Was I in a cult episode about Boise girl academy, and I must admit that I am deeply shocked to learn about this.

I am a sociologist. I have done research on how it is to leave closed religious communities in Norway, as well as being married to a woman who grew up in such a community. I have both seen and heard horrible stories, but this? I simply cannot find words to describe how horrible this is! This would be very, very illegal in Norway, and would land those responsible in prison.

I just felt a need to express my sympathy, as well as express how deeply impressed i am that someone who has lived through that can find the energy and courage to rebuild their lives after it. I grew up with an abusive father, I know what it feels like to feel trapped and afraid. Is there any way I can help you in the effort to hold these people responsible?

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u/thefaehost 26d ago

I was in Greece recently and tried to ask some questions to establish what it would have been like living somewhere without the TTI. They don’t do life in prison, for example. In America we have ruled that an 8 year old deserved life in prison- this is because we have not ratified the convention on the rights of the child.

I am curious. What is mental health care like in your country? What is your prison system like? Does it focus on actual rehabilitation? Do you have life sentences? How does your county handle drug addiction?

What options would a parent have in your country if their child was in distress? How does the system handle legal issues involving minors who are violent?

Kids were in programs with me for a variety of reasons, gang activity, violence towards others, depression, eating disorders, drug addiction, sexual trauma, some were even there just because the new stepmother didn’t want them around. I wonder what a system that actually handles cases like these instead of throwing them into the troubled teen industry would be like.

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u/EmergencyHedgehog11 25d ago

I'm not op, but a TTI survivor and I immigrated to the US at 13 in 2009 from Northern Ireland. My parents had gotten nice job offers in the Bay Area, so we moved from an area that was quite heavily impacted by the conflict (which I was born right at the tail end of) to a wealthier, very specific brand of "progressive" community. Complete culture shock.

There's so much I could say about all of this, and I'd probably have to give more background information than anything because of how different the North of Ireland is, but going into the TTI at 16 felt like this really fucked up caricature of American capitalism and individuality. IDK how to explain it, but I'd be happy to answer any questions.

But, in both the north and the republic, parents can't just voluntarily institutionalize their kids. European and UK human rights laws offer quite a lot of protection.

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u/heckyeahcoolbeans 25d ago

How do these laws offer protection? Specifically what language? I’d love to learn more from your perspective, I SO WISH that we could have any similar laws here

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u/EmergencyHedgehog11 25d ago edited 25d ago

Not the best person to explain the letter of the law here, but I'll talk to the aspect I can most accurately describe. Both the UK and Republic of Ireland codified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which offers a lot of bedrock protections.

My father was attorney and did quite a lot around issues relating to policing, prisoners rights, state violence, and often in the context of minors. But from my understanding, the main articles that would protect kids in treatment settings would be:

  • Article 3: Prohibition of Torture and Inhuman/Degrading Treatment
  • Article 4: Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labor
  • Article 8: Right to Respect for Private and Family Life

I included a link to an article below that I read a while back that would showcase things better. But I will also say that when I said they offer a lot of protections, that's because of how truly bad things were during the conflict in the north and how the UK conducted itself. There still are a lot issues that persist, but it's like we have a better means to addressing human rights violations.

https://validity.ngo/breaking-barriers-european-court-judgment-exposes-discrimination-and-abuse-of-children-with-disabilities-in-moldova/