Law Talks Episode: National Child Protection Week

Robyn: Good morning and welcome to another edition of 4CRB’s Law Talks. Today we have joining us from Attwood Marshall Lawyers, Legal Practice Director Jeff Garrett. Thanks for being here this morning, Jeff. 

Jeff: My pleasure, Robyn. Good morning.

Robyn: Well, this week marks National Child Protection Week, a crucial initiative that champions the message, every child in every community needs a fair go.  This message underscores the mission of National Child Protection Week, which is to promote a safe and supportive environment for every child, both now and in the future. This year’s theme is ‘Every Conversation Matters.’ And in light of National Child Protection Week, let’s start the conversation and talk about the significance of this initiative and what’s happened in the past so we can better protect the children today and ensure a safer tomorrow.

So, to start, what can you tell us about these historical institutional child abuse cases, Jeff? 

Jeff: Well, Robyn, I wish I could say that the recent events, such as the Royal Commission into this would have seen a reduction in child abuse. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case. It seems to be more prevalent than ever, particularly the historical abuse cases, and that’s involving the usual suspects, you know, churches, schools, sporting clubs, et cetera.

And, you know, there’s, it does, just doesn’t seem to be any abatement of those figures, you know,. Just this week, every time you pick up the paper, you  read how there’s a teacher or a you know, a priest or someone who has multiple cases of historical child abuse happening. And I think that it’s just, there’s been an explosion of these cases, and some of that is to do with the Royal Commission, and the fact that it’s in the media all the time now, there’s reports being made, that must be triggering people to recall events which have happened a long time ago.

And, you know, they’re becoming more prone to reporting those issues and having the courage to take it further. Whereas, previously, I think that a lot of this was just bottled up by people, the usual things would apply, they were too embarrassed, they didn’t want to cause a scene, they didn’t think they would be believed, there were time limitations, all those sorts of things cut into this.

But, as I said before, unfortunately, if anything, it appears that the numbers of cases are increasing and they’re historical. So, you know, that shows that there’s still a lot hanging around there in the past. But there’s also current ones which are happening, which you just shake your head at and think, how could that possibly happen in our modern-day society. But it is.

Robyn: And how does such widespread and prolonged abuse occur within institutions like the schools, churches, and sporting clubs where people are trusted, you know, to be involved with children? 

Jeff: Yeah, again it defies all sort of logic, you know, but, it’s a very terrible issue in relation to how these people in trusted positions get into those types of employment that enable them to satisfy these urges that they have.

And it’s disgraceful really that, they become enabled by doing this and they’re very good at covering these things up and grooming, you know, children and, the usual things apply in relation to why it’s so hard to pick up sometimes, because, you know, kids are kids, they feel guilty, they think they’ve done something wrong, they’re groomed by the, um, the people who are abusing them.

A lot of the times, you know, they’re not believed, and that was, that happened quite often. They weren’t believed, either by their parents or the police or, you know, the headmasters or whoever it was. There’s so many things that add up to why this has been allowed to occur. And as I said, even with our new systems that we have in place now with detection and, being vigilant with, what people you allow to go into these types of professions and jobs, etc. It’s still happening.

Robyn: So, Jeff, the working with children checks, or the blue card as it’s known, in Australia, has that helped, since its introduction? 

Jeff: I’m sure it has. In terms of the more modern version of what’s happening.  However, you know, blue cards, while they’re very important and they do checks on people’s histories and things like that, a lot of these abusers don’t have any form, you know, they’ve never been caught before.

Robyn: So, they’re not on the radar. 

Jeff: That’s right. So, while that certainly helps and detects anyone who may have convictions or anything like that. Some of these people are either just doing it now, or, you know, as I said, they haven’t been caught before. So, there’s limits to what those types of systems can, add protection in the system.

Robyn: And what legal avenues are available today for those who suffered, historically as children in these institutions? 

Jeff: Yeah, well, there’s a number of state, territory, and federal redress schemes, depending on where the person lives and what the institution is that’s involved. And they’re pretty well documented and offer lump sum compensation and counselling and other assistance.

There’s also now, common law remedies available to victims of abuse, particularly institutional victims of abuse.

Robyn: Okay.

Jeff: And, you know, that’s taking legal action against a church or a school or whoever for damages for the psychological and physical injuries caused by the abuse. 

Robyn: And what challenges do survivors face when coming forward to seek justice, and sometimes it can be decades after the abuse occurred?

Jeff: Yes, Robyn, that’s one of the most difficult things. Quite often the abuse doesn’t surface or rear its ugly head. It’s been suppressed for so long by people. It may not come out until they’re in their 50s or 60s or even later and it can be a completely unrelated event that will trigger that.

And for whatever reason, that triggering event causes them to recall the events and it’s then, and only then, that it comes out and, it has a whole new flooding effect on the victim of sexual abuse. So, that in itself has been a big problem historically because there are statutes of limitations in relation to these cases, or there were.

They have been largely removed now so that you don’t have to worry about that.

Robyn: Okay.

Jeff: But it used to be for in Queensland, for instance, sometimes these things happened 40 or 50 years ago and you’re way past the three or six year limitation period that would apply. So, the only way that you could get that limitation period extended is if the knowledge of the previous sexual abuse that leads to the psychological condition or injury only came into your experience, your knowledge within, you’ve then got 12 months from when it, when it, came out or evidenced itself. So anyway, that’s been largely removed now, so you can go back as long as you want now. But, that was a big step in having a lot of these cases brought forward. Because there wasn’t a limitation that applied to them.

Robyn: And Jeff, in your experience, what impact does achieving justice have on survivors and how does it contribute to their healing process? 

Jeff: Yeah, it’s a mixed bag, Robyn, because, sometimes taking the action itself brings up a whole lot of the memories associated with the abuse. And going through the compensation process is quite stressful, as you can imagine.

So, there is that aspect of it that it could exacerbate the condition or make it worse in relation to it, particularly if they don’t receive the compensation that they think they should, or there’s no apology provided, and the court system and our judicial system is an adversarial system. It’s not a pleasant journey.

So, sometimes they get to the end of that process and think, well, was it all worth it? But I think the majority of them consider that it is an important step in them coming to terms with what’s happened and getting some redress or some acknowledgement that they’ve been wronged. 

Robyn: Yeah, it’s a tough position. So, how important are conversations like this in ensuring the past mistakes are not repeated and how do they contribute to protecting children today? 

Jeff: Yeah, well I think that, that knowledge that this has happened, that arms everyone with, you know, information that should be able to help people make sure that these things don’t happen again.

And, you know, it’s a combination of things in relation to people being more aware of what’s going on here, so the people in charge of schools, churches, sporting clubs, etc., about the systems they put in place to protect children and weed out any of their employees or coaches or, priests or whoever works for them. And I think that that awareness amongst the public generally, may also help children who might be exposed to this to speak up and do something about it.

They may feel more comfortable and aware of those things if it’s talked about in their families. You know, it’s stuff that you talk about that are debatable.

Robyn: It’s not taboo. 

Jeff: Yeah. It doesn’t have that, you know, aura or mystique and people feeling guilty about discussing these types of things. So, I think that’s an important aspect of reducing this happening.

Robyn: And I’m sure better regulations and stronger penalties will go a long way as well.

Jeff: Yes.  I think that’s certainly happening with the matters that do make it to court. The prosecutions seem to be achieving that. But I don’t think that’s the only thing.

I think it’s more of a societal change that we need in relation to those things. Very similar to domestic violence.

Robyn: Yeah, it is a very uncomfortable topic, but we all need to continue to champion the message to promote a safe and supported life for every child now and into the future. Thanks for your time today, Jeff, highlighting this very important initiative.

Jeff: My pleasure, Robyn. Thank you. 

Robyn: You’ve been listening to Law Talks here on 4CRB, which you can hear every Friday morning from 9 o’clock.