AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter
The Salvation Army failed to protect boys in its care from sexual abuse and punished many who reported assaults, according to a damning royal commission report published on Tuesday.
The report found that The Salvation Army received more than 100 claims of child sexual abuse concerning boys’ homes, but in most cases those who reported were disbelieved, told they were liars, punished or ignored.
“In most cases, the boys who reported the abuse were punished, disbelieved, accused of lying or no action was taken.”
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard evidence about horrific abuse in four boys’ homes in NSW and Queensland between the 1950s and the 1970s.
The homes were Indooroopilly and Riverview in Queensland and Gill and Bexley in New South Wales.
Commissioners found that The Salvation Army’s policies and procedures did not provide enough oversight of managers who, in some cases, were involved in the abuse.
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