AUSTRALIA
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Lewis Blayse
The Enoggera Boys Home in Brisbane, which was run by the Anglican Church, is another of the homes deserving of a closer look by the Royal Commission.
Earlier postings have drawn attention to the need for greater scrutiny of Australian volunteers going to South East Asian “orphanages”. The Enoggera Home serves as an example of why this is necessary. Former Queensland police officer, Graham Leonard Noyes, used his position as a volunteer at Enoggera to abuse a boy. Something of the power distance between victim and abuser stands out here.
While full time “carers” have been able to be tracked down for punishment, it is much more difficult to track down volunteers who may go to several institutions for short periods of time. These abusers are afforded a certain degree of anonymity because of poor record-keeping, and the likelihood victims will have a poor memory of them, which interferes with identification. Victims are inhibited from coming forward because their case is not only likely to be disbelieved, as many of the perpetrators were very prominent members of society, but offences are also very difficult to prove.
Many attacks by volunteer visitors and people taking children out for the day on excursions, probably have not been reported for this very reason. The issue of volunteers should be raised at the royal commission, in the context of both historical cases in Australia and current cases in other countries.
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