AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
March 25, 2014
Josh Gordon
State political editor for The Age.
People in positions of responsibility in churches, schools, sporting clubs, youth clubs or the government who fail to report potential paedophiles to the police will face up to five years in prison.
New laws being introduced to Parliament on Tuesday will also make it an offence, carrying a maximum three-year jail term, for a person who fails to provide relevant information to police if they know or believe a child has been sexually abused.
But under the tough new laws, which stem from the Victorian Parliament’s Betrayal of Trust report on child sexual abuse, priests will be shielded if information comes to light during confession.
Premier Denis Napthine said the new laws would make it clear that people who know or believe that a child has been sexually abused cannot stay silent.
“This sends a clear, unambiguous message to the Victorian community: if you are aware of child sexual abuse you must speak up, you must report it to the police,” Dr Napthine said. “The era of cover up and silence is over.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.