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Child Abuse Inquiry Demands Legal Reform

NEWS.com.au
November 12, 2013

http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/hope-for-action-on-vic-abuse-report/story-e6frfku9-1226758611843

Concealing sexual abuse should be a crime, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse says. Source: AAP

CHURCHES and other organisations caused "unimaginable harm" to thousands of child sex abuse victims in Victoria, compounding their behaviour with a culture of denial and betrayal.

In a report that names the Catholic Church and the Salvation Army as the major culprits, a Victorian parliamentary committee received harrowing accounts of systematic abuse and subsequent denial.

After hearing submissions from more than 450 victims and the responses of dozens of organisations, the parliament's Family and Community Development Committee has called for sweeping legislative changes and widespread reforms of organisations that care for children.

Among the inquiry's 15 major recommendations is a call for new laws making it a crime to conceal child abuse offences, to "groom" a child for sexual abuse and to place a child at risk.

The committee, which investigated child abuse by religious and other non-government institutions, has also called for barriers to civil litigation to be removed by the creation of an independent scheme for victims of criminal child abuse.

Committee chair Georgie Crozier told parliament on Wednesday the inquiry heard graphic accounts of "horrendous" abuse suffered by many victims at the hands of the clergy.

"Children were betrayed by trusted figures in organisations of high standing and suffered unimaginable harm," she said as she tabled the report.

"Parents of these children experienced a betrayal beyond comprehension.

"And the community was betrayed by the failure of organisations to protect children in their care."

The report is scathing of the Catholic Church's response to sexual abuse by clergy and others in its parishes, schools and homes, exposing a culture of concealment and denial.

Senior church leaders had trivialised child abuse; had failed to disclose or even respond to many cases prior to the 1990s; and ensured perpetrators were not held accountable.

More recent responses to abuse by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and Salvation Army were often not truly independent, providing only generic apologies and offers of compensation without admissions of guilt, the inquiry found.

"The overwhelming message in both oral and written submissions to the inquiry was that most organisational responses do not adequately meet the needs of victims in achieving justice," the report said.

Victims of abuse in the Catholic Church also felt there had been a "double betrayal," due to its inconsistent approach to victims and offenders.

"Many victims, families and communities felt a lack of justice and a sense of 'unfinished business'," the report said.

It said the victims also felt betrayed by authorities such as the government and police due to a lack of intervention.

The inquiry found it impossible to accurately count the number of victims of abuse in non-government organisations.

"But based on what we do know ... there have been several thousand victims criminally abused in Victoria alone," it said.

Ms Crozier praised the courage of victims in coming forward, in many cases after decades of suffering.

She also acknowledged that many had committed suicide as a result of being abused.

"The devastating effects of the crime of child abuse were clearly evident - in many instances with life-threatening implications," Ms Crozier told parliament.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

 

 

 

 

 




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