Napthine government fails to act on child sex abuse, by Bryan Keon-Cohen And Joseph Poznanski, Age (June 16, 2014)

Of fifteen recommendations put forward by an inquiry into institutional child sex abuse, the Premier has only acted on three. Why?

In response to community concern about the media coverage of extensive child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and Salvation Army, the Victorian government initiated an inquiry. It was a significant milestone.

The inquiry’s report identified the Catholic Church and the Salvation Army to be the largest institutional offenders, among many 'offending' institutions.

The report, by the family and community development parliamentary committee, was tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 13 November, 2013. Six months later, the Napthine government has implemented just three of its 15 recommendations.

Notably, the report, entitled Betrayal of Trust: Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations, identifies reforms that are critical to: (i) bringing justice to the victims of child sexual abuse in religious and non-religious institutional settings through amendments to the criminal and civil law in Victoria; (ii) future prevention of child sexual abuse in institutional settings, where children are meant to be provided with care and protection; and (iii) future assurance that all institutions engaged in provision of services to children, will be strictly child-safe in their basic standards of care and accountability.

The state government has, to its credit, introduced new criminal laws that enforce mandatory reporting within all institutional settings, where child sexual abuse is witnessed or brought to the attention of community or an institution’s authorities. It has also created a new offence of grooming.

But disappointingly, the government has exempted priests from reporting abuse that come to notice during the sacrament of confession, a venue that symbolically and historically has been at the centre of secrecy, and sexual abuse cover-up. For example, Father Michael McArdle, convicted in 2004 in Queensland of child sexual assault offences, had, over a 25-year period, confessed to sexually assaulting children 1400 times, to 30 different priests in the confessional.

The Napthine government has been very slow and so far has not even begun implementing the remaining 12 recommended vital reforms. These include the report’s recommendation that institutions like the Catholic Church become incorporated and insured like any other law-abiding organisations within our society (Recommendation 26.1).

For example, Jewish religious personnel and institutions are all subject to the doctrines and precepts of their faith, yet the ethos of the Jewish faith is to abide the laws of one’s homeland, wherever that may be. The same principle should apply to all religious and non-religious institutions that are directed by governing bodies established abroad (e.g. the Vatican).

Victims ought to be enabled, not barred by technical barriers and legal loopholes, to initiate civil claims in the courts against all institutions where abuse has taken place. All impediments to achievement of justice need to be removed (Recommendation 26.3). Currently, victims of clergy child sexual abuse cannot take the Catholic Church to the Courts, as the Church is not a legal entity, and all its assets are secured in trusts, with the result that the Church’s considerable wealth is shielded from compensation payouts.

Additionally, there should be no time limits for victims of criminal child abuse in organisational settings in relation to applications for assistance and restitution (Recommendation 27.1). Further, the Napthine government is yet to establish a redress system for victims (Recommendation 28.1). This should be done as a matter of urgency.

Children’s safety is an issue of considerable importance. The Napthine government has so far failed to implement all of the recommendations of the family and community development parliamentary committee. COIN has written to Premier Napthine requesting urgent legislative action. However no definitive response has been provided regarding the implementation of the outstanding 12 recommendations, nor has any timeline been provided in the lead-up to the November state election.

The failure of the government to adopt all of the recommendations of the Betrayal of Trust report risks further, and avoidable, grief and suffering by victims of child sexual abuse and their families.

If the Liberal Party refuses to act, will the alternative, the Labor Party, take this up as an election issue, and indicate a clear policy for action should it achieve government next November?