AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)
Helen Davidson
theguardian.com, Tuesday 5 August 2014
The Salvation Army would support compensation schemes for victims of child sexual abuse but “would resist having to contribute” to its funding unless it had some authority over staffing, decision making and the ability to question costs.
In its submission to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, the organisation said the establishment and operation of a financial redress scheme should be entirely funded by the Commonwealth, with funds contributed by institutions and offenders only going to abuse survivors.
It also suggested an institution should be given the option to “opt in or out” of the scheme, “as a matter of general principle.”
“Liability for such payments should not be apportioned between institutions,” it read. “Each institution should be responsible for their own wrongdoing. Then, such a scheme could operate on a debt-basis.”
In its submission, the Salvation Army also said it believed any final decision about the amount of compensation to be paid to a victim should be made by the institution, although it would support a national “best practice” protocol.
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.