Child sex abuse allegations: Vigilance the key say protection advocates

ABC News
July 23, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-23/child-sex-abuse-allegations-vigilance-the-key-say-protection-ad/5616624

This man is charged with sexual abuse of children in state care.

Advocates on child protection say it is clear people remain able to circumvent efforts by authorities to keep children safe.

A royal commission is likely to be held in South Australia into another case of alleged child sexual abuse.

A man, 32, from Adelaide's southern suburbs is facing charges of unlawful sexual intercourse involving seven preschool-aged wards of the state over 18 months to late 2012, as well as pornography offences.

Authorities say the man had cleared police, child protection and psychological checks before he was hired to care for children in a government-run residential facility.

Leah Bromfield from the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia says greater vigilance is the only effective measure at a time when criminals are matching efforts by government agencies and police to identify child abusers.

"We now have to recognise that, as our systems become more secure, our perpetrators become more and more manipulative," she said.

Albert Barelds from the South Australian Child and Family Welfare Association says residential care standards for vulnerable children will have to change.

"We know from experience that the family-based care environment is much more nurturing and healthy for a child," he said.

"There are some children who are extremely damaged and a residential facility might be the best way to go but [the issue is] how many children should you have, generally you would say certainly no more than three or four in a facility."

He says more frequent checks on people working with children in state care may also be warranted.

SA's Guardian for Children and Young People, Pam Simmonds, says there must now be a focus on caring for the alleged victims in the latest abuse case.

Ms Simmonds says she will monitor the investigation as it progresses and a likely royal commission needs to be wide-ranging.

"We should probably have a look at how robust or not the out of [school hours] care system is in South Australia. We perhaps need more thorough monitoring of the implementation of child safety policies in organisations and I don't just mean within Families SA, I mean in all organisations that are providing care," she said.

The SA Opposition says it supports Premier Jay Weatherill's plan for a royal commission.

An earlier investigation looked at failings in the handling of child abuse at an Adelaide western suburbs school.

Mr Weatherill says many suggestions are being put forward about the future for carers, including using only women in the child protection system.

He says idea which might have been dismissed in a past era will be looked at.

"Everything that we're really giving thought to at the moment is radical, I mean some people have suggested female-only carers - although it's not unknown that we don't have abuse at the hands of females as well - so all these things are being grappled with," he said.

Family First MLC Dennis Hood agrees on the need to evaluate all possible protection measures.

"I think all options need to be on the table. But it's not just men, I mean in some cases women have been responsible for abuse as well. I think the obvious thing is not to leave people alone with children," he said.

Mr Weatherill says ensuring no carer works alone would not be without its issues.

"We obviously allow children to be fostered with parents out in the community and there would be no similar requirement for them," he said.

"We have taxi drivers, we have kids being taken to footy practice, all sorts of things where it would be very difficult to imagine having two people at all times but they're all things we're going to have to grapple with."

Letters are being sent to hundreds of parents of children at an Adelaide southern suburbs school connected with the case.

The man before the courts is accused of assaulting seven children in state care, but also worked at an after-school care and vacation program.

Education Minister Jennifer Rankine says she understands it is the only school where the man worked.

"In an abundance of caution we are writing to all parents currently with children at the school," she said.

"We are working though identifying parents of children who have been at the school previously when this person was working at the school and any other children we can identify who have come from other areas to access out-of-school-hours care or vacation care."