AUSTRALIA
Insights
The General Secretary Rev. Dr Andrew Williams outlined the work of the Synod with the Royal Commission noting that it is just over a year since the Commission held a public inquiry into the responses of the Uniting Church and Knox Grammar School, to incidents of child sexual abuse.
“During the Royal Commission hearing I was deeply moved by the survivors and what they said about the impact of abuse on their lives and the injustices they experienced. We learned that 22 years is the average length of time for a child who has been a victim of abuse to come forward. And then there are huge hurdles and barriers in their way to achieving justice.”
Following the Church’s experience of the Royal Commission public hearing and in light of the Commission’s recommendations, the Synod made a commitment to provide fair, consistent and compassionate redress for survivors of child sexual abuse.
In 2015 the Synod Standing Committee approved resources for a small team of appropriately skilled people to develop an Interim Redress Policy to ensure that;
* the immediate needs of survivors of child sex abuse following the Knox hearing are met and
* the Church is equipped to respond compassionately and consistently to survivors seeking redress and justice.
Developing an Interim Redress Policy has involved a Synod wide consultation process including Wesley Mission and Uniting, and substantial resources both in time and money. It is the intention that the Policy will operate until such time as a government led national approach is up and running. As an ex-officio member of the Knox Board I can say that it is my observation that the culture at Knox is entirely different in positive way from the period under review by the Royal Commission.
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