Clear the Air over Child Abuse

The Australian
April 19, 2012

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/clear-the-air-over-child-abuse/story-e6frg71x-1226332059061

THE goal of Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child sex abuse by religious and other non-government organisations is not to dwell on the past but to protect children in future.

Its powers are extensive, including the ability to compel witnesses to give evidence and to summon documents.

Hopefully, as Premier Ted Baillieu said, the fact that it will be less formal than a royal commission will enable those giving evidence to do so without lawyers. Its terms of reference are well-drawn, focusing on practices and protocols for handling abuse allegations and whether more encouragement is needed to report allegations.

The inquiry will determine, for example, whether the arms-length process set up in Melbourne by the Catholic Church in 1996 and run by an independent QC, which is regarded by some victims' groups as "the best of a bad lot", is effective. The Towards Healing process that applies in Victorian dioceses outside Melbourne will also come under scrutiny, as will those operated by other denominations and organisations. Melbourne's Catholic Archbishop, Denis Hart, has pledged to co-operate fully with the inquiry, as should the leaders of other churches and organisations.

After decades of revelations, including the reported suicides of at least 40 victims of clerical abuse, emotions are running high. The inquiry, however, must not be allowed to become a witch-hunt or a front to wage an ideological war against the churches. Nor should it become a forum to chase compensation; there are other processes to determine such claims.

The spiritual leadership we expect from the church makes abuse of children by the clergy particularly repugnant, yet it represents a tiny proportion of the 46,000 documented cases of child maltreatment substantiated in Australia in 2009-10. These included 5800 cases of sexual abuse and more than 9000 cases of physical abuse. Abuse occurs in all spheres of society -- in family homes, institutions and foster homes -- with neglected children and those from dysfunctional family backgrounds often proving the most vulnerable.

The Victorian inquiry cannot produce a panacea, but an effective outcome could set a benchmark for better dealing with the problem.