Abuse 'not widespread', Salvos say

Sky News
June 23, 2014

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/06/23/abuse--not-widespread---salvos-say.html

The Salvation Army has told a royal commission that child sexual abuse in its homes was not widespread, considering the sheer number of children it has cared for.

Counsel for the Salvation Army Kate Eastman made a submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Monday following public hearings held earlier this year.

In those hearings, survivors told of horrific physical and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of Salvation Army workers in children's homes.

On Monday Ms Eastman said the church 'acknowledges that this is the greatest failure in its history in Australia'.

But she maintained it was not open to the commission to make a finding that widespread sexual abuse was perpetrated by many officers and employees - contrary to the suggestion of the counsel assisting the commission.

Ms Eastman said the Salvation Army had 17,831 children in its care across four homes in NSW and Queensland in the 113 years from 1883 to 1996, and there had been 157 claims of abuse from children in that time.

'We don't for one moment seek to diminish or oversimplify or justify by historical circumstances but we do submit that the total number of claims against the total number of children reflects a relatively small number of children reporting sexual abuse during their time at the home,' Ms Eastman said.

She read an apology to survivors of abuse at Salvation Army institutions, saying the organisation was 'profoundly sorry for failing to care for you as you deserved'.

The organisation has also revealed it has dismissed two officers accused of abusing children at its institutions in the 1970s and referred matters to police.

John McIver was suspended by the Salvation Army in February after allegations he sexually abused two boys in a NSW home in the 1960s and 1970s, and whipped a boy with a strap and dislocated his arm during a beating at a home in Queensland in 1975.

On Monday the commission heard McIver had been dismissed from the organisation in June and matters had been referred to police.

The commission will now prepare its report on the abuse cases involving the Salvation Army.