AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
January 16, 2013
Michael Kennedy
For 20 years I was a detective in the NSW Police force and for a time specialised in child abuse and sexual assault investigations. Whilst in the force, I was constantly reminded by sexual assault and child abuse experts, particularly in the NSW Health Department, that as a police officer I did not understand the plight of victims. I even recall a group writing an article accusing me of delivering ”prescribed advice” to a group of women who were concerned about the potential of sexual assault during a ”law and order” electoral campaign.
This couldn’t have been further from the truth. I did understand how it felt to be a victim of sexual abuse. In 1963 my three sisters and I were placed into an orphanage. Along with others in the home, we were all abused in the most horrible manner. Our cries for help were ignored by the institution. Eventually, after many years, the abuser was sent to jail. There was a civil matter that took many more years. At every turn the ”caring” institution seemed to stall the process on legal advice. All we ever wanted was some family support. But at every turn we were told ”this is a police matter” or ”this is a matter for the courts”.
The forthcoming royal commission on child sexual abuse is an opportunity to change the way we deal with the child abuse investigations. The statement by Julia Gillard that ”too many people have turned a blind eye to the shocking crime of child sexual abuse” hit home with me. Despite my own history, I am as guilty of turning a blind eye as many others.
Over the years the dogmatic approach to this serious social issue lacked both the natural and empirical scientific ingredients that would allow child protection specialists in the public and private sector to manage this problem effectively. The notion that mandatory reporting and demonising offenders would stop child abuse was always an irrational dream. This is particularly the case within an adversarial legal system. The recent action of the Indian defence lawyer, who blamed the deceased victim in a horrible sexual assault on a bus, is all too familiar. It is about the better argument and not the truth. The Australian legal system is exactly the same.
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