Ireland is at least one decade behind most of the rest of the western world in its treatment of victims of child sex abuse. It's very good to see this positive first step to address the appalling inadequacy.
Pilot project to bring supports for sexually
abused children under one roof
Three government departments to co-ordinate approach
of One House centre in Galway
Elaine Edwards
Minister for Children Katherine Zappone said of One House: “This new approach is aimed at ensuring children are not retraumatised by having to recount the details of their ordeal a number of times to different people.” Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
A pilot project to co-ordinate supports for children in a single place who have been sexually abused is to open in Galway early next year.
Minister for Children Katherine Zappone, Minister for Health Simon Harris and Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan announced the One House pilot project on Tuesday.
The joint approach will involve the three departments working together, along with the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), the Health Service Executive and An Garda Síochána.
Currently, where there are concerns that a child has been sexually abused, the child has to be interviewed separately by gardaí and Tusla child protection social workers and may need to have a forensic and medical examination.
These assessments may all take place in different places at different times and the child and family may then be referred to another service for counselling and support. Under the proposed model, all services and supports will operate under one roof, the Ministers said.
Child-friendly centre
Children who have been abused will be brought to this child-friendly centre where they, and their family members, will meet gardaí, doctors and social workers who will co-ordinate their assessments so the children do not have to repeat their experiences.
“I am delighted to say that the pilot centre for a new interagency service to work with children who have been sexually abused, and their families, will open in early 2019 in Galway,” Ms Zappone said.
“This new approach is aimed at ensuring children are not retraumatised by having to recount the details of their ordeal a number of times to different people.”
Ms Zappone said that, together with special rapporteur on child protection Geoffrey Shannon, representatives from An Garda Síochána, Tusla and officials from Department of Justice, she had seen at first hand similar approaches that were working well in New York, Northern Ireland and Oxfordshire.
“Those fact-finding missions together with the expertise within our own frontline agencies are allowing us to develop an Irish model – the One House approach. Funding for our new pilot was secured in Budget 2019,” she added.
Specialist expertise
Mr Flanagan said the One House centre should improve the efficiency and effectiveness of child sexual abuse services and develop specialist expertise, skills and knowledge “in this complex area for the benefit of children who have suffered from sexual abuse”.
Mr Harris said multiple interviews added to the trauma and the pain children and their families faced when a child had experienced sexual abuse.
“These families have already endured so much and we, as a Government, must do everything we can to assist them during this difficult time but also to ease their burden in any way possible,” he said.
The One House project is informed by international best practice, such as the Barnahus model in Iceland and the Child Advocacy Centre models in the US.
Failed
Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children chief executive John Church said the appropriate level of support had not always been available to children and young people in Ireland who had been sexually abused and they had been failed in this regard.
He said the ISPCC looked forward to the establishment of One House centres in further locations across Ireland on the successful completion of the pilot programme.
Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) executive director Dr Clíona Saidléar said: “We can’t continue to fail children who experience child abuse. This pilot has the potential to deliver, for the first time, dedicated wrap-around specialisation to this area of child protection. This is long overdue.”
Indeed, it is long overdue. But Thank God it is finally being realized.
French Bishops to form commission on
historic child sex abuse
Brinkwire By Omer Aydin
Bishops’ conference aims to ‘shed light on sexual abuse of minors in Catholic church since 1950’
PARIS
The Bishops’ Conference of France announced Wednesday that an “independent” commission would be set up to investigate sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church.
Following a four-day meeting in the French city of Lourdes, French bishops released a statement saying the aim of the commission would be to “shed light on the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic church since 1950”.
In addition, the commission would seek to “understand the reasons which led to the way these affairs were handled” and make recommendations.
And will they try to determine why it happens in the first place?
The members and leadership of the commission will be named in the coming days, with a report to be published within two years.
One of the commission’s objectives will be “collecting the stories of victims in order to better understand the reasons that led to these acts”, and the conference had indicated that financial compensation could be offered to the victims.
Well, this is a good thing! It's not ideal that it is being initiated by the Bishop's Conference as there are, no doubt, some Bishops who would rather the inquiry not be too thorough. But, in the lack of any enthusiasm by any government department to open this huge can of worms, it is good that the can will be opened. Hopefully, it is a sign that the Bishops actually want to make things right with the victims, and possibly even with God.
Tackling child sexual abuse in the Five Towns, PA
Sacred Spaces founder and CEO Shira Berkovits discussed child abuse to help kick off Aleinu: A Safeguarding Children Campaign at Young Israel of Woodmere on Oct. 30.
JEFFERY BESSEN/ HERALD
A resident of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed and six others injured at the Tree of Life Congregation synagogue on Oct. 27, came to the Five Towns last week to speak on another painful topic.
Shira Berkovits, founder and chief executive officer of Sacred Spaces, still emotional after seeing her community targeted by an apparent anti-Semite, delved into child abuse in a presentation on Oct. 30, breaking down complex concepts into simple and easy-to-understand ideas and splicing Hebrew words into her Oct. 30 lecture. Sacred Spaces is a cross-denominational initiative to address institutional abuse in Jewish communities.
The meeting, at the Young Israel of Woodmere synagogue, was the Five Towns kickoff of Aleinu: A Safeguarding Children Campaign, which Sacred Spaces is spearheading, along with Congregation Sons of Israel, also in Woodmere, the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre, the Marion & Aaron Gural JCC, the Mid Island Y JCC, Ohel Children’s Home and Family Service and the UJA-Federation of New York.
Noting recent programs in the Five Towns that have addressed children’s issues not previously discussed by the Orthodox Jewish community, in-cluding drug abuse, Rabbi Hershel Billet, of Young Israel, cited “a maturation of the Jewish community” for its efforts to begin discussing difficult topics. “Children should feel safe at home, safe at a synagogue, safe at school, camp and other programs where they need the protection of those who know that ill or evil people could take advantage of our children,” Billet said.
Berkovits acknowledged her uncertainty about leaving Squirrel Hill so soon after the tragedy. She said she had spoken to a rabbi, Steven Exler, who told her, “We honor their lives by protecting other lives.”
And many children need protection: Two-thirds of the sexual assaults committed nationwide target them, according to national statistics. Berkovits, who is also a lawyer, cited a 1998 Centers for Disease Control study that surveyed 17,000 adults, and found that before they turned 18, 28 percent suffered physical abuse, 25 percent endured neglect and 20 percent had been sexually assaulted. Subsequent studies found similar results, she said. “The impact is lasting — it doesn’t just go way,” Berkovits said. “There are psychological impacts, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, anxiety.”
Spotting a child predator is not easy, because there is no real prototype, Berkovits noted, adding that 93 percent of predators are known or trusted by their victims, 33 percent are other young people, and according to the U.S. Department of Education, 10 percent of children in public schools have been solicited or assaulted by school personnel. “Child predators don’t end up in schools by accident,” she said, adding that they are also attracted to youth service organizations and summer camps.
Pointing to the sexual assault scandals involving the Catholic Church and Olympic gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, Berkovits noted that incidents of abuse are often reported to different people who do not see a pattern or the entire picture. Her research led her to establish Sacred Spaces.
Fingerprinting staff could help
Elliot Pasik, an attorney from Long Beach and the father of six children, has been pushing for the fingerprinting of nonpublic-school employees for more than decade. Public schools in New York state are required to fingerprint employees as part of their background checks.
“There are persons with serious criminal histories who have tried getting jobs in both the public and nonpublic schools,” Pasik said. “Checking their criminal records keeps the schoolchildren out of harm’s way. Also, people with serious criminal histories who know they will be fingerprinted are deterred from applying for school employment.”
Of the 390 Jewish nonpublic schools in the state, only two — North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, in Great Neck, and Shema Koleinu, in Brooklyn — fingerprint their employees. The New York State Association of Independent Schools recently mandated that its members fingerprint prospective employees, beginning this school year. Lawrence Woodmere Academy, in Woodmere, and North Shore are two of the 16 Long Island schools that are association members.
“Lawrence Woodmere Academy has been closely working with NYSIAS on the issue of fingerprinting requirements,” said LWA Headmaster Alan Bernstein. “NYSIAS is still reviewing a policy for existing employees, and has not yet made a decision on how member schools should begin to address that.” Bernstein said that fingerprinting each job applicant costs roughly $99.
An incident of sexual assault allegedly occurred recently at LWA. A former teacher at the school, Daniel McMenamin, of Valley Stream, was arrested on Oct. 18 and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault. He is alleged to have engaged in several acts of sexual misconduct with a girl who was a student at the school from November 2014, when she was 14, until July 2017, according to police.
Saying he takes the responsibility of keeping 450 boys and girls safe seriously, North Shore Headmaster Dr. Daniel Vitow said that is the reason his school fingerprints all prospective employees, from custodians to administrators, as part of the school’s background check. “I want to make sure that we’re working to maintain the maximum degree of safety and security,” Vitow said, adding that the policy has been in place for five years.
The Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, which includes HALB Elementary and Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys, both in Woodmere, Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls and the Lev Chana Early Childhood Center, both in Hewlett Bay Park, and the Avnet summer day camp in Woodmere, does not fingerprint its employees. “We do comprehensive background checks on all employees,” said Executive Director Richard Hagler.
Berkovits said that organizations and institutions must “decentralize power” and establish committees that will implement best practices to protect the children in their care. “What we are building has the ability to change the world,” she said.
Nearly all who attended the meeting were educators, social workers or youth group leaders. Michele Vernon, a senior vice president of Camp Sunrise, and Brielle Brook, the camp’s registrar, both said they benefited from Berkovits’s presentation. “It was concise and proactive on how we can take care of the children,” Vernon said.
“I liked that the institutions are working on this together,” Brooke added, “and we don’t have reinvent the wheel.”
Religious institutions to be included in N.Z.
child sex abuse inquiry
Chris Bramwell, Deputy Political EditorThe Government's inquiry into the abuse of children in state care will be expanded to include the abuse of children in the care of religious institutions.
The Inquiry is to be called the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-Based Institutions, to reflect its expanded scope.
The Royal Commission was formally established in February to be chaired by the former Govenor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, with the terms of reference, budget and additional inquiry members to be announced after consultation and Cabinet approval.
Its initial scope was to cover circumstances where the state directly ran institutions like child welfare institutions, borstals or psychiatric hospitals, and where the government contracted services out to other institutions, but as of today that will be expanded to include children in the care of faith-based institutions
Religious groups and church abuse survivors have been lobbying to be included in the inquiry since it was announced.
It will begin hearing evidence from January next year with the first interim report, which will be focussed on state care, to be reported back by the end of 2020.
A final report containing the Royal Commission's findings and recommendations will be submitted to the Governor-General in January 2023.
The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said it was critical the Government got the Royal Commission right and the scope and purpose of the Inquiry has been carefully considered.
"Today paves the way for us to confront a dark chapter of our national history by acknowledging what happened to people in state care, and in the care of faith-based institutions, and to learn the lessons for the future."
The four other members of the Inquiry have been confirmed as Ali'imuamua Sandra Alofivae, Andrew Erueti, Paul Gibson; and Judge Coral Shaw.
The Inquiry has a budget of $78.85 million over four years, which includes more than $15 million to help participants by providing counseling and related support.
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and Catholic Religious orders have welcomed the inclusion of faith-based institutions in the inquiry.
The President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Patrick Dunn, said the church reaffirmed its support and desire to learn from this national undertaking which it was confident would contribute positively to the strengthening and safeguarding of its families, communities and society.
"The view we expressed during the consultation was that it would be wrong if some individuals were excluded from the Inquiry simply because their path of referral to an institution was different from someone else's."
The Catholic Church has appointed a new group to ensure it provides a co-ordinated and co-operative response to the Commission from all the many dioceses, congregations and institutions of the Church in this country. The new group is called Te Rōpū Tautoko.
Its chair Catherine Fyfe said it would support the Royal Commission with the information they need.
"We will review the Terms of Reference and look forward to working with the Commission as it progresses the next steps in this process. We will collectively work towards healing."
The Anglican Archbishop Philip Richardson said he was also pleased the Government had responded positively to calls, including from the churches, to broaden the scope of inquiry.
"Our primary concern is for the needs of those whose lives have been impacted by abuse, and we are conscious that abuse has been perpetrated by agencies across our society, including the Church and its agencies.
Philip Richardson said justice must not only be done, but also be seen to be done. "A Royal Commission of Inquiry provides a forum, a credibility and an independence, which victims and survivors of abuse and the wider public will trust.
"While I think that that those in authority in the church today have a good sense of what the scope of historical abuse of children in the care of the Anglican Church has been, we can't be categorical about that.
"We see this Commission of Inquiry as one way we can put that faith into action, and our hope is that this broader inquiry will provide a pathway to healing and wholeness for all concerned."
An Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse presented its final report at the end of last year after about three-and-a-half years of hearings - the Australian inquiry included public and private institutions, including child-care, cultural, educational, religious, sporting and other institutions.
Statewide trauma counselling service announced
for Victoria child sex abuse survivors
Siobhan CalafioreLocal News
A statewide trauma counselling service to support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse has been announced as part of the National Redress Scheme.
The Andrews Labor Government announced $12.3 million in funding over four years to deliver the Restore: Victorian Redress Counselling Service program, which is accessible from Monday.
The funding will support the establishment and delivery of the program, led by the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault, in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommendations.
Ballarat CASA will be one of the major beneficiaries.
The Care Leavers Australasia Network, Open Place, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and Drummond Street will work alongside the centre to deliver the counselling service, with survivors able to choose the services they want to access.
Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos said the partnership was a way to stand side-by-side with survivors and their families.
“Each organisation in this program is an established, trusted organisation with significant experience delivering specialist services and they will be of great support to those who need it,” Ms Mikakos said.
Ballarat sexual abuse survivor Phil Nagle welcomed the announcement.
“Some of our survivors from Ballarat are already based in Melbourne, so hopefully they can use the services, but there are obviously a lot of survivors still in the Ballarat region that aren’t in the situation where they can travel,” he said.
“These things are just a starting point, so hopefully we can try get some momentum and build on from there.”
Mr Nagle said he applauded any funding that went towards helping survivors. “Particularly mental health services,” he said. “Because that is what has been lacking for a lot of people – where do you go? Who do you talk to?”
Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault has been one of the services stretched since the Royal Commission. “They’ve been the linchpin for a lot of the survivors in Ballarat and they’ve certainly been heavily involved in our situation,” Mr Nagle said.
Ballarat CASA operational director Shireen Gunn said all 14 centres across the state would benefit as part of the five-organisation consortium.
“We’re really pleased to be able to receive that funding,” she said. “It allows us to continue to support the cohort we are already servicing and cover a larger group of survivors.”
NSW Government to introduce tougher laws
for concealing child abuse
Sage Swinton
Maitland Christian Church pastor Bob Cotton gathered 13,000 signatures for a petition calling for harsher penalties for concealing child sex abuse. Picture: Marina Neil
The NSW Government will introduce harsher penalties for concealing child abuse thanks to a Maitland-born push to up the maximum jail term.
The proposed changes, set to be the toughest in the country, will see the maximum penalty for concealing child abuse increased from two to five years, or seven years if the person received a benefit for concealing.
It comes after Maitland pastor Bob Cotton launched a petition pushing for the reform, which amassed 13,000 signatures, as covered by The Mercury over the past few months.
Pastor Cotton said he believed the proposed law change was “one of the most significant pieces of legislation” to come out of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.
“I’m very grateful the government has done this,” he said. “They’ve listened to the people.”
Pastor Cotton has been pushing for the change for more than two years. Fairfax Media reported back in October 2016 that he had joined forces with survivors Peter Gogarty and Paul Gray to push for the law reform.
He said he “always thought” the changes would come, but did not expect as much resistance as he initially received.
The government introduced some reforms to child abuse laws back in June, but kept the maximum penalty for concealing at two years. “I was really disappointed on June 20,” he said. “Those laws hadn’t worked in the past.”
But since then, Archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to 12 months home detention for concealing abuse, which caused outcry within the community.
Pastor Cotton said he believed amending the laws would change the future. “It’s not going to be worth people’s while to protect pedophiles,” he said.
“Child abuse can lead to a lifetime of trauma for victims and should be reported to police immediately,” Mr Speakman said.
“Increasing penalties for concealment will deter people from protecting pedophiles or turning a blind eye to their crimes.
“These reforms will enable courts to impose longer sentences on people who protect pedophiles and other heinous child abusers.”
NSW and Victoria are the only states in Australia with a concealment offence specifically related to child abuse (NSW) or child sexual abuse (Victoria). In Victoria, the maximum penalty is three years’ imprisonment.
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