Page 3797 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 24 September 2019
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Canberrans, we acknowledge and understand our shared responsibility to protect children and our obligation to take action to hold offenders accountable. It is for that reason that I recently introduced amendments to various criminal laws changing reporting obligations. These laws came into effect on 1 September this year and include a new criminal offence for failing to report if an adult reasonably believes that a child has been sexually abused. This offence applies even when that abuse has been disclosed during a religious confession.
The offence applies to all adults, and it applies without exception. It does so for particular and important reasons, especially when considering prior exceptions for religious practices. Ultimately, when there is an obligation on all adults to act in a particular way to keep children safe, any individual or institution must have a compelling case before an exception is created.
There is clearly no compelling case for religious practices. In fact, the royal commission found that in some instances religious confession was a factor in facilitating further abuse. The royal commission also heard evidence that perpetrators who confessed to sexually abusing children went on to re-abuse and to seek forgiveness again. The royal commission’s report details countless instances of adults knowing about child sexual abuse but staying silent. The testimony of survivors made clear the further abuse and trauma that were facilitated by that silence. This offence makes clear that adults must not stay silent and that they have a duty to report child sexual abuse to the police.
The report by Her Honour Justice Julie Dodds-Streeton which informed, through extensive consultation with the Canberra community, the creation of the offence outlined the importance of the new offence and explained how it will contribute to both effective law enforcement and also, and possibly more importantly, a cultural shift in how we view the reporting of child abuse.
I have spoken before about the primacy of children’s right to safety and the priority that must be accorded to the right. In view of this, the offence makes clear that every single person, no matter what their job, no matter what their vocation, must report relevant information. The right to freedom of religion is not absolute, and the freedom to practise religion in a particular way must never take precedence over children’s right to safety.
A failure to report abuse not only leaves that particular child exposed to repeated abuse but also exposes other children to abuse, leading to a fundamental breach of children’s most basic human rights to safety and protection.
Research suggests that the effects of child sexual abuse can be lifelong. There is a strong relationship between child sexual abuse and poor mental health in later life. Victims of child sexual abuse are almost four times more likely to have contact with a public mental health facility compared with people in the general community. The research indicates that victims of child sexual abuse are more likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs. The same research indicates that children who have been sexually abused are at far greater risk of behavioural problems, more likely to run away from home and at a greater risk of committing vandalism and juvenile offences than those
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