Some of the young children, several of whom are from Uganda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo became so traumatized by the experience that they have needed prolonged counseling afterwards.
One such victim who was tracked down by the Guardian newspaper is four-year old Ibrahim Ssentongo, a Ugandan child who was held along with his father Stephen in the notorious detention centre Yarl’s Wood.
He is now so traumatized by the incident that even seven months after his detention he does not like going out.
"When he sees people in uniforms or white shirts and black trousers, like bus drivers or security guards in shopping centers, he stops," his father told the
Many however are too scared to speak out about their ordeal even though Sheila Melzak, a consultant child psychotherapist working with families who have been detained, said Ibrahim’s trauma was far from unusual.
"All the young people I have been talking to have lingering effects after months and even years," she told the Guardian.
Yarl’s Wood has been the subject of frequent allegations of abuse of detainees in the past as well as claims that it used excessive force to make those denied political asylum return to their place of birth.
Both the Home Office and Yarl’s Wood authorities have denied the allegations but this has not stopped them continuing to be made.