Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse: Mandatory Reporting "Does Not Adequately Protect Children"

ABC News
May 22, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-22/mandatory-reporting-does-not-protect-children-royal-commission/5470970

Mandatory reporting policies do not go far enough to protect children from sexual abuse, a royal commission has heard.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is examining a prestigious Perth private school's response to allegations of inappropriate conduct by a teacher dating back to 1999.

The teacher, referred to as YJ, was jailed for five years in 2010 for sexually abusing five students.

The school and its staff cannot be identified.

Professor Stephen Smallbone, a psychologist and Griffith University professor who specialises in the prevention of child sexual abuse, told the commission that mandatory reporting, which came into effect in 2009, does not adequately address the grooming of children prior to abuse.

He said it was more of a reactive measure.

"Mandatory reporting sets too high a threshold for the level of concern that ought to exist in order to be acting in the best interests of the children," he said.

"It is about thinking about the role of adults within the environment - in this case, school environments - their role in the prevention of abuse, not just in the detection of it."

If we wait until a child is sexually abused before anything is done, it seems to me very late.

Professor Stephen Smallbone, Griffith University

He said the school's child protection policy, in place when the offences occurred, fell short of best practice and a revised policy currently in place focuses too heavily on responding to sexual abuse rather than preventing it.

"If we wait until a child is sexually abused before anything is done, it seems to me very late," he said.

"The emphasis ought to be on prevention, and preventing the first incident is ... the most important one to prevent."

The school's former headmaster today told the commission he never suspected sexual abuse had taken place, despite multiple complaints about YJ's inappropriate behaviour.

The headmaster joined the school in 2003, four years after first suspicions were raised about YJ's conduct, including allegations of inappropriate touching.

After receiving a written complaint in 2004, the principal discovered previous documents on the teacher's file alleging similar behaviour.

But the headmaster said he suspected TJ was just lonely.

"I understood he lived by himself," the headmaster said.

"He didn't seem to have a lot of friends on staff."

Former junior school headmaster returns to stand

In an unexpected development, the former headmaster of the junior school returned to the stand to face fresh questions after the parent of an ex-student watched a live broadcast of yesterday's proceedings and contacted the lawyer for one of the victims.

The parent claimed he had complained to the then junior school principal about YJ's conduct during a school camp, saying YJ had watched boys in the shower and slept in the same room as them.

The principal told the commission he had no recollection of that conversation, rejecting suggestions he was dismissive of the parent.

"I am not dismissive towards any parent," he said.

"I have the greatest respect of parents who give their time to any school to support, in particular on occasions such as attending camp."

Yesterday, the former junior school headmaster broke down at the hearing while admitting he failed to act decisively when concerns were raised about YJ.

Instead of alerting the whole school headmaster, he placed on file a detailed letter of complaint he received about YJ from another teacher.

Earlier this week, the commission heard evidence from two former teachers - including the author of the complaint letter - who said the school did not take their concerns seriously enough when they reported YJ's behaviour.

They detailed many instances of inappropriate behaviour, including YJ caressing boys' bottoms and making students squat naked over wash basins while on a school camp.

The hearing will resume tomorrow.