Legal: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse 

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse is now well advanced in its work (though far from complete).

Clearly, responses by institutions to the work of the Royal Commission are likely to have significant impacts upon the work of teachers, not least the elevated importance of sophisticated, efficient child protection practices.

An interim report, which runs to nearly 400 pages, is available at www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au under “About Us” / “Our Reports”. Volume 1 is well worth reading.

Obviously we cannot do justice to the whole document, but it is important to flag a few matters.

In relation to the importance of organisational culture, the following appears at page 8:
“It is apparent that perpetrators are more likely to offend when an institution lacks the appropriate culture and is not managed with the protection of children as a high priority.

They will manipulate people, processes and situations to create opportunities for abuse. Everyone in a responsible role in an institution must be able to recognise when perpetrators are manipulating or ‘grooming children’. This requires education and training and the development of an appropriate institutional culture.”

On the importance and difficulty of identifying grooming (as distinct from innocent) behaviour, the commission says at page 8:

“Grooming behaviours can be difficult to recognise or distinguish from seemingly innocent actions. However, observable signs include increasingly more intimate and intrusive behaviours, creating ‘special’ relationships with particular children, or seeking to spend time with children alone or outside the work role.

“Parents and those caring for children need to understand the characteristics of grooming behaviours.”

Useful comments on this topic also appear at pages 124 and 125.

On the vital topic of identification, at page 155 and following, the commission emphasises the importance of training, removing barriers and (again, and vitally) the importance of culture.

In its discussion of reporting, at pages 164 and 165 the commission reviews the “range of barriers” to adults reporting child sexual abuse.

The commission’s website also demonstrates the width of the research projects. Published research at www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/policy-and-research/published-research comprises the following extremely useful references.

Brief review of contemporary sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia
Historical review of sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia 1978-2013

Mandatory reporting laws for child sexual abuse in Australia: A legislative history
Child Exploitation Material in the Context of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.

Andrew Knott
TressCox

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 119 No 8, 14 November 2014, p27