'Child sexual abuse royal commission delivers final report – as it happened' diff viewer (0/1)

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Child sexual abuse royal commission delivers final report – live	Child sexual abuse royal commission delivers final report – live
2017-12-15 00:15:12 UTC	2017-12-15 00:50:07 UTC (35 minutes later)
	More than one in three survivors (36.0%) said they were sexually abused in pre-1990 out-of-home care – primarily in residential institutions, such as children’s homes, missions or reformatories.
	Just under one-third (31.8%) said they were abused in a school, and 14.5% said they were abused while involved in religious activities, such as attending a church or seminary.
	More than one in five survivors (21.0%) said they were sexually abused in more than one institution.
	Of those survivors who told us about the types of institution where they were abused, 58.6% said they were sexually abused in an institution managed by a religious organisation.
	Almost 2,500 survivors told us about sexual abuse in an institution managed by the Catholic Church. This was 61.8% of all survivors who reported sexual abuse in a religious institution. It was 36.2 per cent of all survivors who came to a private session.
	From the report:
	2,203 survivors (or 32%) in private sessions told us they were abused in an institution under government management, most commonly schools, out-of-home care, youth detention and healthcare facilities.
	More than 10% of survivors (714) told us that they were sexually abused in institutions that were not under government or religious management.
	Of these survivors, almost two-thirds (63.3%) said the abuse occurred in a private organisation, such as a childcare centre, a medical practice or clinic, a music or dance school, an independent school, a yoga ashram or a sports club.
	More than one-third (36.1%) told us they were sexually abused in a non-government or not-for-profit organisation.”
	From the report’s preface:
	It is now apparent that across many decades, many of society’s institutions failed our children. Our child protection and criminal and civil justice systems let them down.
	Although the primary responsibility for the sexual abuse of a child lies with the abuser and the institution of which they were part, we cannot avoid the conclusion that the problems faced by many people who have been abused are the responsibility of our entire society.
	Society’s values and mechanisms which were available to regulate and control aberrant behaviour failed.
	...
	Although, inevitably, the Royal Commission has looked at past events, it is important that the momentum for change initiated by the Royal Commission’s work is not lost and that lasting changes to protect children are implemented.
	The Royal Commission has been concerned with the sexual abuse of children within institutions. However, notwithstanding the problems we have identified in institutions, the number of children who are sexually abused in familial or other circumstances far exceeds those who are abused in an institution.
	The sexual abuse of a child is intolerable in a civilised society. It is the responsibility of our entire community to acknowledge that children are vulnerable to abuse. We must each resolve that we will do what we can to protect them. The tragic impact of abuse for individuals and through them our entire society demands nothing less.
	It contains 17 volumes - some of which themselves contain multiple volumes. The first alone is more than 330 pages. We’ll bring you key findings as we go through it.
	The executive summary is here (pdf).
	The Anglican Church has released a statement this morning ahead of the release of the final report, which will then be tabled to parliament out of session and made public, we’ve been told, before noon.
	The commission has been releasing a series of incremental reports about abuse in various institutions in the lead-up to their final report being delivered to the governor general today, and last week released damning findings about the Anglican diocese of Newcastle.
	The commission found paedophiles were allowed to harm children for at least 30 years within the diocese because of a series of failures by leaders, who had a “do nothing” approach to reports of abuse.
	In a statement, the head of the Anglican Church of Australia, Melbourne Archbishop Dr PhilipFreier, said the Anglican Church of Australia has “deeply appreciated” the work of the royal commission.
	“The commissioners and their staff have been diligent for five years, delving into matters thatmust have been distressing for commissioners and staff as well as survivors,” Freier said.
	“Case studies involving branches of the Anglican Church have been shocking and distressing forAnglicans, and have confronted us with our failings... we admit that sometimes we have been slow to grasp the extent or severity of abuse.
	“There has been a change in the wider culture of the Anglican Church about child abuse as allelements of the church have had to face our failures – a change that, again, was largely due to the royal commission and the Church’s response.
	“Once again, I apologise on behalf of the church to survivors, their families, and others harmed by our failures and by the shameful way we sometimes actively worked against and discouraged those who came to us and reported abuse. The work of making the Church a safe place is never finished and cannot be taken for granted. We will engage with the final report released today to improve our systems, protocols and procedures.”
	Yesterday McClellan presented the National Library of Australia with a book of around 1,000 messages handwritten by survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.
	The book, titled ‘Message to Australia’ is a collation of personal messages written by those who shared their story to the royal commission in a private session addressed to the Australian community.
	Survivors’ share their experiences and their hopes for creating a safer environment for children in the future. A slideshow containing all the messages in the ‘Message to Australia’ book can be found here.
	I’ll be publishing some of them throughout the live coverage of the report and its findings.
Prof Leah Bromfield, the co-director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia, for a time served as professorial fellow to the commission, helping to determine its research priorities.	Prof Leah Bromfield, the co-director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia, for a time served as professorial fellow to the commission, helping to determine its research priorities.
With this royal commission there’s been a real focus on the horrific harm that occurred in orphanages, in children’s homes and institutions of the past. But some of the work of the research agenda really showed that for a particular high-risk group of children, this is not a story of the past.	With this royal commission there’s been a real focus on the horrific harm that occurred in orphanages, in children’s homes and institutions of the past. But some of the work of the research agenda really showed that for a particular high-risk group of children, this is not a story of the past.
These institutions continue the exploitation of our most vulnerable children and they continue to feel unsafe. So this royal commission has shined a light on this problem. It has exposed a national shame in terms of the way our children were treated in the past. But it’s not over. We can never rest on our laurels. We have to continue to improve the lives of children. Personally, I’ve never lost my ability to be astounded at the way that some adults can treat children.	These institutions continue the exploitation of our most vulnerable children and they continue to feel unsafe. So this royal commission has shined a light on this problem. It has exposed a national shame in terms of the way our children were treated in the past. But it’s not over. We can never rest on our laurels. We have to continue to improve the lives of children. Personally, I’ve never lost my ability to be astounded at the way that some adults can treat children.
We’ve had five years where we’ve been trying to say [to survivors] ‘You matter. This matters. Your story matters’.	We’ve had five years where we’ve been trying to say [to survivors] ‘You matter. This matters. Your story matters’.
And if we drop it like a hot potato, I can’t imagine how devastating the impact of that would be.”	And if we drop it like a hot potato, I can’t imagine how devastating the impact of that would be.”
Prof Daryl Higgins, the director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies within the Australian Catholic University.	Prof Daryl Higgins, the director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies within the Australian Catholic University.