New laws, new tools, new trainings, and FGM outlawed in Australia
..
San Diego DA Unveils New Tool To Track Suspected Child Sex Abuse Cases
..
San Diego DA Unveils New Tool To Track Suspected Child Sex Abuse Cases
By Jade Hindmon, KPBS
District Attorney Summer Stephan (center) along with Deputy District Attorney Stephen Marquardt (left),
John Warren, publisher of Voice & Viewpoint newspaper, Francine Maxwell and Carla Simental at the announcement
of the Student Safety in School Systems Task Force on Nov. 14, 2019.
There is a new, independent online tracking tool available that allows San Diego County residents to report suspected sexual and physical abuse of students.
The tool was unveiled along with a new task force by District Attorney Summer Stephan after a two-year investigation by Voice of San Diego into harassment and abuse in San Diego County’s public schools. The tool aims to address some of the issues raised in the investigation, such as gaps in mandatory reporting of suspected abuse.
Arizona task force calls for new laws,
education to combat child sex abuse
By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
A task force the governor created to help guide lawmakers on possible changes to state laws involving child victims of sexual abuse in Arizona made its final recommendations on Friday.
During its meetings, which began this summer, the task force’s discussions have ranged from preventative education, better reporting mechanisms within schools and data sharing between police departments to increasing awareness of changes in the law and changing criminal statutes.
It appears that almost all the priorities discussed during the meetings have ended up in the 12-page document that outlines the task force’s recommendations to Gov. Doug Ducey.
“My sincere thanks to the task force’s co-chairs, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Chief Deputy Rachel Mitchell and Senator Paul Boyer, as well as everyone who dedicated their time and energy to develop these recommendations. I look forward to working with all members to implement them,” Ducey said in a press release about the task force’s recommendations.
Ducey announced the creation of the Justice for Victims of Child Sex Abuse Task Force at a ceremonial signing in May of a new law to expand the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers or the organizations that protected them.
The task force consisted of victim advocates, lawmakers and law enforcement from across the state.
Boyer, who championed the statute of limitations issue throughout the previous session, was the co-chair of the task force.
The recommendations
The task force’s recommendations are broad.
The first recommendation is to include child sex trafficking in the criminal statute of limitations. There is no such statute of limitations for sexual molestation, sexual explotation and sexual contact with a minor under state law, but child sex trafficking has a statute of limitations of 7 years.
The task force also recommended that state law change in regards to the definitions of who is considered to be in a “position of trust.” Currently state law includes a child’s parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, legal guardian, foster parent, teacher, coach, instructor, clergyman and priest as people who are considered as being in positions of trust.
The task force wants to add relatives by blood or marriage within the third degree except for siblings, employers or bosses, adults in the same house, persons 10 years or older who the child has a relationship with or has a relationship with the family and revise two other categories. It also wants teacher or educator to include any adult school employee and clergyman to include priest or youth pastor.
“Position of trust” is important for prosecuting child sex crimes, because prosecutors do not need to show a lack of consent in cases involving a minor between the ages of 15 to 17 if the defendant was in a position of trust. Additionally, if the defendant was in a position of trust, it elevates the crime from a class 6 felony to a class 2 felony.
The task force also recommended that the law be changed to allow any judge overseeing a child sex abuse case or child sex trafficking case to prevent a defendant from personally questioning his or her victim in court.
Another statutory change the task force wants to see is enhanced probation on sex crimes.
Currently, sex trafficking related crimes do not require special probation terms. The task force recommended that anyone convicted of sex trafficking have similar probation terms as those convicted of gang or white collar criminal offenses.
The task force also recommended that additional funding be provided for forensic interviewing of victims.
Other funding recommendations include setting up a statewide program to provide grants to counties to allow them to re-examine DNA in cold-case child sexual abuse allegations.
The task force also recommended that the Arizona Department of Public Safety begin conducting a study on creating a statewide database for all law enforcement in the state to use to track confirmed sexual predators and sex traffickers. Currently there is no such system in place.
The task force also further advocated for increased awareness of the civil statute of limitation changes enacted earlier this year, chief among them a civil window for anyone to file a lawsuit that ends in December 2020.
Funding for community organizations that provide aid to victims of child sexual abuse and adult survivors was also recommended, as was funding for a 24-hour statewide hotline to report incidents of abuse that would include counseling and referral services.
The task force is also hoping for some data on the new law that spurred its creation, recommending that the courts collect data on the number of new civil cases filed in order to help the state further understand how the law worked and guide possible future statue of limitation changes.
One recommendation that has already drawn some controversy and will likely draw some going into the January session will be the recommendations on education.
The task force is recommending that the Arizona Department of Education create a statewide training program on mandatory reporting, as well as provide additional resources to students on sexual abuse.
The task force also wants the education department to create curriculum centered on social media and cell phones, and how they are used by sexual predators. It further suggested the Department of Education create policies to ensure educators are using social media appropriately with their students.
Teaching children how to spot sexual predation and sexual abuse is another recomendation, including age-appropriate classes on the issue, something that could run afoul of anti-sex education Republicans in the upcoming session.
However, the recommendations are not all about curriculum.
The task force wants to give the Arizona Board of Education the authority to investigate sexual misconduct of uncertified teachers. There are currently 6,000 uncertified teachers in the state, none of which can be investigated by the board.
Additionally, the Department of Education only has a staff of six to investigate claims of sexual misconduct, so the task force is recommending additional funding to deal with the high caseloads that each of those investigators have.
The task force is hoping to spread awareness for the Childhelp National Abuse Hotline.
Lastly, the task force is also recommending that foster children in DCS care are given age-appropriate materials and resources about sexual abuse and sex trafficking before they are placed in a group home or foster home.
Excellent! A lot of good ideas there!
New NC laws get tough on criminals, drug dealers and people who ignore child abuse
North Carolina will get tougher on drug dealers and on armed suspects who attack public safety and law enforcement personnel, but prosecute fewer teens as adults as a slew of new laws take effect this month.
Multiple changes also have been made to sexual assault, child sexual abuse and human trafficking laws, including an update that lets women revoke consent to sexual activity, even after it begins.
North Carolina previously was the only state that did not consider it a crime to continue having sex with someone who changed their mind.
North Carolina also was the only state in the nation that still prosecuted 16- and 17-year-old offenders as adults for nonviolent felonies and traffic offenses. The new Raise the Age law will limit the number of teens in adult courts to those charged with violent felonies and those who have previously been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or impaired driving in district or superior court.
Related bills passed this summer will provide $30 million to help local court systems implement the change, hire more court counselors and add more juvenile detention centers.
The state’s new 2019 laws went into effect Dec. 1, though some are scheduled for implementation on Jan. 1, 2020.
CHILD SEX ABUSE LAW
The new law, among other changes, makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for anyone over age 18 to fail to notify the authorities when he or she suspects or knows that a child is being physically or sexually abused.
It also makes it possible to prosecute someone after 10 years have passed — instead of two years — after he or she has committed a misdemeanor crime against a child. The law also aims to protect children from online sexual predators.
Well, it's a meager start, but a start.
Over 5% of Coos County, Ore., residents
trained to recognize child sex abuse
Kids' HOPE Center surpassed its goal to train five percent of
Coos County residents in the Darkness to Light program
JILLIAN WARD The World
Darkness to Light facilitator and education coordinator at the Kids' HOPE Center, Sarah Bright, received an international award from Darkness to Light for recruiting organizations to attain the Partner in Prevention status. Oregon is first place in the nation for training the most organizations in Partners in Prevention.
The Kids’ HOPE Center, a child abuse intervention center, announced in a press release that it has surpassed its goal to train five percent of Coos County residents in the Darkness to Light program. The goal was to train five percent of residents within three years, but accomplished it within two years.
“The Kids’ HOPE Center provides an important and necessary service in Coos County, as it has some of the highest rates of child abuse in the state of Oregon,” the release said.
Program Director Ashley Matsui told The World that the Darkness to Light training is important to the center because of the number of abuse and neglect cases they see every year. When the center got the grant to offer the Darkness to Light training, it was organized so it is free for participants.
“The only thing we ask of people is to give up their time,” Matsui said. “We feel fortunate that our county, out of all of Oregon, has taken this training seriously.”
The center’s education coordinator, Sarah Bright, is one of the facilitators for the free training and explained that when it started the focus was on teachers and social workers.
“But I had it in my mind the day we started that we needed to train parents,” she said. “It’s hard because you’re asking parents to leave their family since we don’t have daycare, but we do provide food. It hasn’t been easy to bring parents in, but I feel it is so important for every adult to have the training. It helps them identify when a child needs help and if a parent gets the training they might see signs in their child or be more vigilant for who is with their child.”
Bright pointed out how difficult it can be for parents to spot a predator, who often gains the family’s trust, appears to be nice to their kid and gives little gifts.
“Not everyone knows what it looks like, but with this training they will figure it out,” Bright said.
Not only that, but the Darkness to Light training helps remove the Hollywood stereotypes of child predators being "a big, scary guy driving a van,” Matsui said.
“That’s not how it happens,” Matsui said. “A small percentage of cases are that, but over 90 percent of cases are with perpetrators who are known to the child. It is someone the family knows and trusts and has built a relationship with, allowing the perpetrator to gain access to the child. This training talks about the grooming process and how easy it would be to overlook that person gaining family trust and getting close to your child.”
Sexual abuse cases are mostly what the center processes, with more and more of those cases being reported every year.
“But I don’t necessarily think more people are being sexually abused, since people have always been sexually abusing kids, but now people know the signs in order to report it,” Matsui said.
The Kids’ HOPE Center has 350 child abuse cases so far in 2019. Matsui said that 60 percent of those are sex abuse cases, while the rest are neglect. Most of these cases are for children 12 years old and under.
Not only will the Darkness to Light training teach participants how to identify abuse, but it will teach how to respond when a child discloses abuse.
“Those initial reactions are important,” Matsui explained. “Kids will test the waters when disclosing to an adult and if they feel believed they are more likely to fully disclose, but if the child is not met with support and understanding then they often don’t fully disclose or won’t recount later if they don’t have adult support around them.”
In 2018. Bright attended the Darkness to Light conference in Memphis, Tenn., where she received the Partner in Prevention award. When she received this award, the center had 25 partners or organizations committed to putting its staff through the Darkness to Light training. Now, the center has 45 partners. Bright said that Coos County has 45 of the 58 Partners in Prevention registered in Oregon.
“It shows how this community is coming together and realizing how important it is not to just train part of your staff, but all of your staff,” Bright said.
Matsui pointed out that the center has reached beyond the realm of social services, which include teachers and law enforcement, to training organizations that often have nothing to do with children at all.
“Like bakeries, banks, organizations where their primary goal isn’t social services,” Matsui said. “It’s encouraging for us that there is so much community support. We get calls from across the state on how we have so much buy-in from the community.”
People who have done the training are asked to repeat it every two years, while committed partners are asked to put new employees through the training.
One of the important tasks of the Darkness to Light training also includes breaking the stigma surrounding child sex abuse. For Bright, she has seen how participants in the training start out uncomfortable when discussing the topic but become more comfortable by the end.
Matsui added that it is often nerve-wracking for people walking into the training simply because some expect to be asked to talk about personal experiences, which doesn’t happen.
One of the other benefits to the training is that there are five or six different facilitators.
“They are from all walks of life and genders, which helps make people more comfortable,” Bright said. “There is the stereotype to not talk about this, but when you do the training you realize you have to talk about this.”
The training is every third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and every fourth Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To attend, call the center at 541-269-4196.
“It’s proud for us at the center to not only have 3,000 people who have done the training, but so many organizations who have committed to training their staff because they believe in this mission,” Matsui said.
Congratulations girls; keep up the great work. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes in statistics over the next few years. The UK has a problem with false reporting taking up valuable resources. I hope that doesn't happen in Coos County. God bless you all.
AR Kohima Battalion holds awareness lecture
on child abuse in India
NAGALANDon child abuse in India
Puja Nair of HEAL (Help Eradicate Abuse through Learning) giving a lecture on ‘Child Abuse’ at Kohima Garrison on December 4. (Photo: PRO, IGAR)
Kohima, (MExN): The Kohima Battalion under the aegis of HQ IGAR (N) conducted an awareness lecture on child abuse for the teachers from various schools of Kohima on December 4.
Held under the theme, ‘Child Abuse,’ the lecture at Kohima Garrison was attended by 65 teachers from different schools in Kohima.
Puja Nair, the resource person, covered the alarming rate at which child abuse is growing and how social media has given unhindered access to children and students to engage in the actions which have far reaching consequence hampering positive growth of a child from their tender age.
She is a part of HEAL (Help Eradicate Abuse through Learning), an organisation founded by Rahul Bose, that has been working against Child Sexual Abuse since 2008 and is based in Mumbai, informed a press release from Lt Col Vincent Patton, the PRO of Inspector General of Assam Rifles.
The lecture was meant to make adults aware of what child abuse is and how “we as adults have the responsibility to prevent it,” the release said.
The lecture was followed by queries from the teachers in attendance and interaction.
Australia’s Highest Court Rules Female Genital Mutilation Illegal in All Forms
..
Around 200 million girls and women globally
have undergone some form of FGM
Editor’s note: This story contains sensitive details concerning FGM and a recent case related to two young Australian girls.
Global Citizen
High Court of Australia
Australia’s most powerful court ruled Wednesday that female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal in all its “various forms.”
In a huge victory for women’s rights, the judgment by Australia’s High Court has alleviated the uncertainty and debate around the words ‘mutilation’ and ‘clitoris’ — which has previously allowed convicted individuals to be acquitted of their crimes.
The ruling will now negate the release of three people who, in 2015, were found guilty of performing FGM on two young girls, but later had their convictions set aside because Australia’s Criminal Court of Appeal claimed the trial judge had misinterpreted the two terms.
ABC Religion&Ethics
@ABCReligion
The High Court has ruled that even "symbolic" female genital mutilation is illegal: https://ab.co/2oPV3jF
Former nurse Kubra Magennis, spiritual leader Shabbir Mohammedbhai Vaziri, and the young girls’ mother allegedly performed “khatna” with the children — which sees the cutting or nicking of a clitoris.
The trio claimed the girls did not have their clitoris’ cut. They argued the ceremony was purely symbolic and simply involved "touching the edge of the genital area … allowing the skin to sniff the steel,” according to the ABC.
Regardless, the three individuals were sentenced to 15 months in jail.
However, Australia’s Criminal Court of Appeal overturned their conviction after finding that the word ‘mutilate’ means some “imperfection or irreparable damage” had to have occurred.
A further medical exam presented to the court revealed the tip of the clitoral head was apparent for both girls, meaning it could be argued that the clitoris was not mutilated.
On Wednesday, the High Court confirmed that the phrase ‘mutilates’ must cover the cutting of the clitoral hood. The clitoral hood, the court ruled, must also be considered a part of the ‘clitoris’.
"This broader construction ... would best promote the purpose or object of prohibiting such procedures generally," Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and Justice Patrick Keane said in a joint judgment, according to the Canberra Times. "On the Court of Criminal Appeal's construction, it may be taken as intended that even if a child might suffer a painful and distressing experience, no offence is committed unless some defect of damage is apparent."
FGM is practiced around the world.
Often thought of as a cultural tradition that helps girls become adults, the practice in reality causes significant health issues.
Earlier this year, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released a report which revealed 53,000 Australian girls and women who were born overseas have been subjected to the procedure. Around 200 million girls and women alive today have experienced some type of FGM, according to the World Health Organization.
Parents of 10-Year-Old Girl Who Died After FGM Are 'Hampering' Prosecution, Activists Say
All Australian states have laws prohibiting the practice — which all include legislation that makes it illegal to perform the procedure on an Australian overseas. Penalties differ largely among states.
With the trio’s actions in 2015 now reconsidered illegal, their case will go back to the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal next week to determine whether the original 15-month sentencing was fair.
No comments:
Post a Comment