Several former employees of Aurora Borealis had reported this to the police in October last year. He not only started working on the matters himself, but also informed the IGJ. Journalist Alberto Stegeman also recorded abuses and passed them on to the Inspectorate.
The inspectorate visited the farm, where ten people with intellectual or multiple disabilities live, in December. In the report that has now been published, the Inspectorate writes about several situations in which these residents were mistreated.
For example, the police report contains a report about a client who was pushed with his head into a toilet. Another was put in a ditch by staff. Yet another client was placed outside under a dripping garden hose.
There are also reports of someone having an orange pushed into his mouth and a client being pulled back by the hair while a snake was pushed down his throat. “The snake goes so far down his throat that the client makes choking noises,” the description reads.
Clients were belittled and intimidated
“At Aurora Borealis, clients are subject to corporal punishment if they try to make clear with their behavior what they want or don’t want,” the IGJ summarizes the situation in a report.
Clients were also belittled and intimidated “by laughing, insulting and humiliating them”, according to the inspection. As a result, Aurora Borealis had “a feeling of insecurity”.
The care farm had to stop caring for two clients a few days after the inspection’s visit. Now Aurora Borealis is no longer allowed to care for clients at all.