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Damaged, explores the continuing crisis in British children’s care homes and the unresolved child sex abuse scandal at Skircoat Lodge, Halifax, during the 1980s and ‘90s.

The launch of Operation Screen, the police enquiry set up in 1997 to investigate claims of child abuse, saw 2,500 people stepped forward with harrowing stories of their time at Skircoat Lodge. A paedophile ring was uncovered stretching back to the late seventies involving Skircoat Lodge and two other children’s homes under the auspices of Calderdale Council.

Calderdale County Council have, to date, refused all access requests for original witness statements, and Halifax Police have claimed many of the original files were lost.

In January 2025, The Crown Prosecution Service have filed cases against two care home workers who across a 25 year period are accused and will stand trial for assault and rape against various victims. In total they face 47 charges ranging from rape to indecent assault relating to seven victims.

The documentary asks urgent questions: why have vital documents been lost, why has it taken so long despite multiple accusations involving key figures at Skircoat Lodge and why, despite the on-going fight for justice, has Calderdale Council not taken culpability?

To date, 75 people have tragically taken their lives because of the trauma they experienced at Skircoat Lodge and other children’s homes in Calderdale.

This heart wrenching and shocking film examines the systemic failure to protect the young and vulnerable children of Britain.

The documentary DAMAGED explores the harrowing child sex abuse scandal at Skircoat Lodge in Halifax and Calderdale children’s homes during the 1980s and ’90s, shedding light on the systemic safe-guarding failures. Damaged will lift the lid on the hidden scandal of how our care system far too often destroys the lives of those it is there to parent, what some are calling the civil rights issue of our generation.

Damaged The film focuses on survivor accounts, led by best-selling author, activist for justice and a survivor of Skircoat Lodge, Chris Wild. Alongside Chris, eye witnesses and ex-Skircoat Lodge residents will be speaking for the first time about their ordeal. The film highlights the culture of violence and complicity among senior figures at Calderdale Council and the police against vulnerable young people in care.