Page 3795 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 24 September 2019
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has faced only mandated reporters. But with all adults in the territory now required to report, it will be increasingly important that this problem of feedback be fixed.
Finally, I note in a very serious way that a government that expects its citizens to report the abuse of a child needs to be seen as capable of dealing with those reports. As we are all too aware, there have been instances in this territory where parents, step-parents, educators and others have raised concerns that have failed to protect a child. It is my deepest wish that this government put into place the mechanisms necessary to as far as possible eliminate the possibility of this happening again.
I again thank Mr Pettersson for bringing this matter of public importance before the Assembly. It is indeed important, and I look forward to seeing the Barr government fulfil its responsibility to make sure that Canberrans clearly understand the law that has come into effect and can act in a way that will genuinely protect children..
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (3.18): Everyone in the Assembly and almost everyone in the community would agree that children and young people should be safe from harm so of course I am pleased to support this MPI. The Greens have previously supported the Reportable Conduct and Information Sharing Legislation Amendment Bill which came about as a result of both the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Glanfield report on the review into system level responses to family violence in the ACT.
It is very important that where there are allegations of harm and risk to children and young people that information about their safety and welfare is made available to child protection, law enforcement and relevant oversight bodies to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved. The royal commission as we know all too well revealed long-term systematic child sexual abuse and cover-up of that abuse by a range of institutions which were meant to provide for the protection, safety and wellbeing of children. These include churches, faith-based organisations, residential care organisations, educational institutions et cetera.
The impacts of this abuse are far reaching and often sustained. In the long term they can be devastating and manifest in numerous ways, not least of which is the inability to trust and the undermining of self-belief of the person. Many survivors have a difficult life path, struggling to deal with the effects of the abuse which can manifest in mental health, drug and alcohol issues and, unfortunately, engagement in the criminal justice system.
The royal commission in particular has encouraged people to talk about child sexual abuse in a way that never previously existed. Firstly, people talked about it. Many disclosed their abuse for the first time, some 50 to 60 years after the fact. The stigma around talking about such things has been reduced. It is clearer to all of the community that child abuse unfortunately occurs.
We need to recognise that the majority of child abuse, be it sexual or otherwise, occurs in homes as distinct from institutions. This is why the work done on family and domestic violence is incredibly important. Families are not always the safe and loving places we believe they should be.
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