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The Duplessis Orphans ((フランス語:les Orphelins de Duplessis)) were the victims of a scheme in which approximately 20,000 orphaned children were falsely certified as mentally ill by the government of the province of Quebec, Canada, and confined to psychiatric institutions.〔(The Duplessis Orphans ) at CBC Archives〕 ==Overview== The 1940s and 1950s were considered a period of widespread poverty, few social services, and Catholic predominance in Quebec. The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s had not yet occurred, so the Roman Catholic Church still held major social power. Maurice Duplessis, the premier of Quebec, was a strict Catholic. It was the Church’s responsibility to be the sole caretaker of the poor, alcoholics, unwed mothers, and orphans. He put the schools, orphanages, and hospitals in the hands of religious orders, noting he “trusted them completely.” He signed an order-in-council, changing orphanages into hospitals in order to provide them with federal subsidies. Many children were admitted to orphanages because their parents were unmarried, not because they were orphans. Children being born out of wedlock went against the Church's values. The Quebec government received subsidies from the federal government for building hospitals, but hardly anything for having orphanages. Government contributions were only $1.25 a day for orphans, but $2.75 a day for psychiatric patients.〔 The ''Loi sur les Asiles d’aliénés'' (Lunatic Asylum Act) of 1909 governed mental institution admissions until 1950. The law stated the insane could be committed for three reasons: to care for them, to help them, or a security measure to maintain social order in public and home life. However, the act did not define what a disruption of social order was, leaving the decision to admit patients up to the psychiatrists. The doctors diagnosed the children with various mental illnesses while ignoring their actual mental state. Children in Quebec orphanages were therefore declared “mentally deficient.” Schooling stopped, and the orphans became inmates in a mental institution where they were sexually, physically, and mentally abused by lay monitors and nuns. Children who complained about the conditions were sent to local reform schools.〔 Seven religious orders participated: the Sisters of Providence, the Sisters of Mercy, the Gray Nuns of Montreal, the Sisters of Charity of Quebec, the Little Franciscans of Mary, the Brothers of Notre-Dame-de-la-Misericorde, and the Brothers of Charity.〔 A commission in the early 1960s investigating mental institutions revealed one-third of the 22,000 patients did not belong.〔 The Bédard report of 1962 put an end to the outdated concept of an “asylum,” while many of the orphans reached adulthood and could leave the facility. Years later, long after these institutions were closed, the children who had survived them and become adults began to speak out about the harsh treatment and sexual abuse they endured at the hands of some members of institutions and medical personnel. 〔(Protesters in straitjackets demand inquiry of Duplessis Orphans era February 19, 1999 )〕〔(Allegations of child abuse April 2, 1993 )〕〔(Orphans sue Catholic orders over mistreatment May 21, 1993 B/W Photo of Denis Coque, Silvio Day, Hervé Bertrand, Yvette Gascon )〕 In a psychiatric study completed by one of the involved hospitals, middle-aged Duplessis Orphans reported more physical and mental impairments than the control group. In addition, the orphans were less likely to be married or to have a healthy social life. 80% reported they underwent a traumatic experience between the ages of 7 to 18. Over 50% said they underwent physical, mental, or sexual abuse. About 78% reported difficulty functioning socially or emotionally in their adult life. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Duplessis Orphans」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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