Michael O’Connell Commissioner July 2011

1. Child Victims of Sexual Abuse Michael O’ConnellCommissionerJuly 2011

2. Introductory Remarks Pictures drawn byBen Fletcher (2009)

3. Children as victims of crime Like anyone else, children can be victims of crime. Like adults, they have both physical and emotional reactions.

4. Young children as victims of crime Young childrenoften experience feelings of guilt, and find it difficult to tell anyone about the crime. If young children do tell, and are not believed or not supported, they may carry the hurt through to adult life.

5. Total number – notifications, investigations & substantiations – children on orders - 2001-2010 in Australia (AIHW 2011)

6. What are the Child Protection Principles? • The South Australian Children’s Protection Act 1993 states principles to guide professionals, such as child protection workers and counsellors and the police, dealing with a child. • These principles include: • A child has the right to be safe from harm. • A child has a right to care in a safe and stable family environment. • A child’s well-being and best interest are to be the paramount considerations

7. What are the Child Protection Principles? • In determining the child’s best interest, consideration must be given to the following: • The desirability of keeping the child within his or her own family and the undesirability of withdrawing the child unnecessarily from a neighbourhood or environment with which he or she has an established sense of connection • The need to preserve and strengthen relationships between the child, his or her parents and grandparents and other members of the family (whether or not the child is to reside with those parents, grandparents or other family members) • The need to encourage, preserve and enhance the child’s sense of racial, ethnic, religious, spiritual and cultural identity and to respect traditions and values of the community into which the child was born • Whether the child is able to form and express his or her own views as to his or her best interests • The undesirability of interrupting the child’s education or employment unnecessarily.

8. Mandatory Reporting • The legal requirement to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect is known as mandatory reporting. • Section 11 Child Protection Act

9. Who is required to report child abuse? • Doctors; pharmacists; registered or enrolled nurses; dentists; psychologists; police officers; community corrections officers; social workers; teachers; family day care providers; employees/volunteers in a government department, agency or instrumentality, or a local government or non-government agency that provides health, welfare, education, sporting or recreational, child care or residential services wholly or partly for children; ministers of religion (with the exception of disclosures made in the confessional); employees or volunteers in a religious or spiritual organisations

10. When is a designated person required to report child abuse? • Reasonable grounds that a child has been or is being abused or neglected; and • The suspicion is formed in the course of the person's work (whether paid or voluntary) or carrying out official duties

11. What type of ‘abuse’ should a mandated reporter report? • Physical abuse • Sexual abuse • Emotional/psychological abuse • Neglect

12. Primary substantiated abuse in South Australia – 2009-10

13. Key Pointers in Presentation • Victimology & Criminal Victimology • Child Sexual Abuse • Cyber-abuse & Children • Child Protection • Effects of child abuse (Fletcher 2009)

14. VICTIMOLOGY • Schneider (1982) says victimology is the ‘scientific study of victims and of process, origins, causes and consequences of victimisation’. • Criminal victimology shifts the emphasis from the offender to the victim. It covers the role of the victim in the dynamics of a crime, the development of victim typologies, explanations for victim-proneness, identifying victims’ needs as well as the impact and effects of crime on victims, preventing victimisation and alleviating fear of crime (O’Connell 2005).

15. Recent areas of interest in Criminal Victimology • New attention on particular groups of victims: • Sexually abused/misused children & adult survivors of such abuse • Domestic & family violence (e.g. abuse of elderly and among minorities (such as migrant families) • Hate crime (such as racially motivated against migrants) • Organized crime & transnational crime (e.g. human trafficking & people snuggling) • Terrorism • Crimes against humanity (e.g. war crimes)

16. What is child sexual abuse? • Child sexual abuse is any sexual act or sexual threat imposed on a child or young person. • Child sexual abuse includes a range of behaviours, such as: • Intimate kissing • Touching/fondling • Masturbation • Penetration of the vagina or anus with the penis, finger or any object • Oral sex by the perpetrator • Oral sex on the perpetrator by the victim • Flashing • Exposure of the child to pornographic materials • The perpetrator asking the child to touch his/her genitals

18. Cyber-abuse and children • Violence and harm against children and young people in cyber space includes: • On-line solicitation or ‘grooming’ (that is, securing a child’s trust in order to draw him or her to a situation where he or she may be harmed). • Harassment and intimidation, including bullying. • The production, distribution and use of materials depicting child sexual abuse. • Exposure to materials that can cause psychological harm, lead to physical harm, or facilitate other harm to a child.

19. WHO IS A VICTIM? Who is affect by child sexual abuse?

20. Effects of sexual abuse on a child Children and young people are all different and the effects of sexual abuse may vary and might include: • Not feeling good about themselves. • Thinking people do not like them. • Thinking they are no (or not) good at anything. • Feeling unlovable. • Feeling distant from their carer and angry towards them. • Feeling as though they have no control over anything. • Feeling sensitive to any blame. • Feeling shame (that is as if they have done something wrong).

21. Effects of sexual abuse on a child • Research indicates that not all children who have been sexually abused will in fact experience problems or difficulties as a result of the abuse. • Some children do not show effects; others may show them when they get older.

22. Effects of sexual abuse on a child • The effects of sexual assault may vary from child to child and often depend on such things as the: • Type of abuse • Relationship to the abuser. • Length of time over which the abuse occurred. • Use of threats, violence and manipulation. • Child’s age and developmental level. • Reaction of others to the abuse. • The level of ongoing support from the family and others close to the child. • Feelings of being believed.

23. How do families often react to a child victim of sexual abuse? The (non-offending) parent(s): • • Shock and/or Disbelief • • Numbness • • Anger • • Guilt and/or betrayal • • Wanting to know all the facts • • Sadness, grief • • Emotional exhaustion • • Fear • • Feelings of isolation and aloneness, and responsibility • • Relationship difficulties • • Confusion

24. Advice to a (non-offending) parent of an abused child • A parent should let his/her child know that he/she believes the child • It will help for a child to know that a parent believes them. The following messages will help convey to a child that a parent believes them: • I believe you. • It was not your fault. • Telling was the right thing to do. • The perpetrator is responsible for what happened, not you. • I am glad that you are talking to me about it. • I’m sorry that this has happened to you. • Together we can stop this from happening again.

25. How do families often react to a child victim of sexual abuse? The brothers and sisters • Jealousy at loss of attention from parents • Anger at parents being less available to them than before • Older children can feel responsible for not protecting younger children • Increase in family tension, fighting • Feelings of loss • Betrayal • Anger towards brothers and sisters for telling, as there may be many changes in the family as a result • Confusion and lack of information about what has happened • Embarrassed, ashamed and unsure about whether to tell their friends or to seek their own support

26. How do families often react to a child victim of sexual abuse? • Other people in the family: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins: • May want to avoid the painful reality and be uncertain whether to say something or not • May not believe that sexual abuse happened to the child • May threaten to hurt or kill the abuser • May feel very mixed up about who to believe because of their relationship with the perpetrator • May blame the parent(s) for the abuse • May blame the child • May support and believe the perpetrator’s (that is if a family member) denials

27. Who is there to help? • Families SA (South Australia) • Receive and assess reports of suspected sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect of children. • Refer all cases of suspected child sexual abuse to South Australia Police, Families SA District Officers and Child Protection Services • Investigate and assess alleged abuse or neglect of children. • Bring matters before the Youth Court, if required. • Promote the safety of children. • Work with other agencies to secure the safety and protection of children. • Offer the child and family support services – by referral to other services e.g. sexual assault services, family support.

28. Who is there to help? • Police • Work with the Child Protection Services (if the child is over 16 years then Rape & Sexual Assault Services) and Families SA. • Investigate, collect evidence and, if they have a reasonable belief a crime has happened, present the matter to a prosecutor. • Contact with child and/or family and other witnesses and conduct interviews. • Make submissions on whether a perpetrator should be given bail. • Make applications for Restraining Orders if necessary to protect children and families. • Refer victims and their families to health and welfare services to help them deal with the effects of sexual abuse. • Give victims and their parents or guardians information about victims’ rights, including victim impact statements, and keeps victims (who ask) informed according to those rights

29. Who is there to help? • Sexual Abuse Services • Provide counsellors specially trained to talk with children and parents about feelings and the difficulties they may be having following sexual abuse. • Assist, support and counsel children and their parents to help them deal with some of the effects that may occur after sexual abuse. • Provide practical assistance to parents and children after the child makes known that they have been sexually abuse. • Provide accurate information about the nature of child sexual abuse. • Provide information about rights in relation to: reporting to the police, the legal process, and reporting to the appropriate agencies.

30. Who is there to help? • Sexual Abuse Services • Provide information about going to court, and in conjunction with other services (such as the Victim Support Service (including Court Companion Service) and the Witness Assistance Service in the Office for the Director of Public Prosecutions) provide support during court appearances. • Provide advocacy services to help parents and children pursue their rights. • Provide a medical examination to check the health of the child following sexual assault and assess for physical evidence of sexual assault, which may be important to the criminal investigation. • Provide information on Victims Compensation. • Provide information about other services which may be helpful.

31. Who is there to help? • Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions • The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the independent prosecuting authority that prosecutes all serious criminal offences in South Australia. The DPP does not investigate crime – this is the role of investigating agencies such as the police. The DPP determines which cases will be prosecuted in the District and Supreme Courts and then carries out the court prosecution in those cases. • The DPP keeps victims of crime (who ask) informed of the progress of the prosecution. The DPP also consults victims (including parents in cases where the victim is a child) about the prosecution of the crime and assists them throughout the prosecution, including whenever practical, meeting with victims before the trial, if one is required.

32. Who is there to help? • Witness Assistance Service • The Witness Assistance Service is a part of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and works closely with other organisations to help victims and witnesses involved in the prosecution of criminal offences conducted by the DPP. Services include the provision of information about - the criminal justice process; victim's rights; assessment and referral to other agencies; the preparation of witnesses, including children testifying in court; arranging support and debriefing for victims who testify in court; and assisting victims and witnesses to liaise with prosecution lawyers.

33. Commissioner for Victims’ Rights

34. Justice for Child Victims of Crime

35. Child Sexual Abuse – General observations • Sexual abuse is a crime. • Family friends, family members or strangers may sexually abuse children. • Sexual abuse is never the child’s or young person’s fault. • Sexual abuse is an abuse of the child’s trust. • Perpetrators often use psychological manipulation to make children do what the offender wants and to stay silent about it. • It is not unusual for (non-offending) parents to blame themselves, but it is never their fault. It is always the perpetrator who is responsible for the sexual abuse. • Each child reacts differently (although commonalities) to sexual abuse.

36. Concluding observations • Children can successfully recover form the effects of the sexual abuse. • Having the abuse stopped, being able to tell someone about it, being believed and being protected are the most important and valuable things a child needs.

37. Terima kasi Selamt pagi (Fletcher 2009)