ALECOMM

"Child Protection"

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Category: Uncategorised

Created: Monday, 06 September 2010 23:30

Written by Alecomm2

Ms PRU GOWARD (Goulburn) [7.00 p.m.]: It is with pleasure that I speak in debate on the matter of public importance relating to National Child Protection Week, which is sponsored by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect [NAPCAN], a wonderful children's organisation that was established years ago by Rosemary Sinclair and that has an office in every State and Territory. The association has as its principal interest addressing child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neglect is Australia's most significant social problem and that is the view also of the association. This is a week in which to reflect on what we can do about early intervention and prevention. The Minister was provided with research conducted by the association to mark this week—research that found that only one-third of respondents to a survey carried out by the association said that they would call police if a child told them that he or she was being sexually abused—an alarming statistic and expression of an attitude.

I commend the association for carrying out this research. This is an opportunity to contemplate or to consider why that research produced this result. It would be nice if in future years the New South Wales Government released those results and we turned this week into a full week of activities. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is taking part in National Child Protection Week by screening this week a documentary entitled Polly and Me with a discussion hosted by Geraldine Doogue to follow at 9.30 p.m. It is well understood by all members that 33,000 children are abused or neglected each year in Australia. In New South Wales we have hundreds of thousands of reports of abuse or neglect, and currently about 16,000 children are not able to live with their parents because they are at risk of significant harm as a result of their living conditions.

Most people associate child abuse with physical abuse, but it includes also psychological and sexual abuse. Statistics relating to children at harm include also neglect and the witnessing of domestic or family violence. Physical abuse and sexual abuse account for only 30 per cent of all cases of abuse and neglect. Psychological abuse and neglect are much more common forms of abuse against children. We know that that abuse, which can last a lifetime, increases the risk of substance addiction, crime, homelessness, poor physical health, educational failure, poor employability prospects, depression and suicide. In other words, it is very much a part of the cycle of poverty and intergenerational disadvantage. I know that all members are committed to breaking that terrible cycle.

National Child Protection Week is a time to consider the importance of awareness raising. People have a right as well as a responsibility to report when they believe that children are at risk of abuse or neglect. We expect governments, community organisations, commercial organisations and our neighbours to take some responsibility for this. The Minister has often said—and I think that this view is shared by us all—that children are everybody's business in the same way as child abuse and neglect is everybody's business. The association provided this quote to mark National Child Protection Week:

It's a tragedy if one child suffers abuse, but how do you respond when you know it's happening to 33,000 children?

That is a problem for the public and for parliaments around Australia. The problem is so immense and, in some ways, so secretive and so hard to reach that one feels overwhelmed by it and one thinks that it is better to leave it, that it is somebody else's business. I could talk for hours in this Chamber about what could be done better in the area of early intervention with children at risk and identifying families that are not coping. In particular, young parents could be provided with early guidance. People with mental illnesses and drug and alcohol addicts often neglect their children, not because they do not love them but because they cannot cope. I think we could do a lot more for those families.

Sometimes the removal of children from those homes is not always the best option. It might be an option that we think of at first but in cases of neglect we need to think harder about the ways in which we can intervene, better support those families, and ensure that children are no longer neglected and are also not removed. An enormous amount of evidence suggests that removing a child from highly damaging circumstances can also lead to harm. We want to ensure that the harm goes away and that these children are not on a merry-go-round—moving from placement to placement. We do not want to end up with distraught and disturbed teenagers who settle nowhere, trust nobody and, tragically, enter that same cycle of disadvantage from which they came.

As part of National Child Protection Week, the association put forward a number of ideas for parents and relatives to follow. We must believe children when they tell us that they are being sexually abused. When children are skinny and they are not being fed properly neighbours must take note of those factors. I am sure that they hear the shouting and the sounds of violence in these homes. They must do something about it and report these incidents. Local communities must make looking after our children their key priority. Without safe, healthy and happy children this country, this culture and this nation will have no future.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL (Keira) [7.07 p.m.]: As we have heard, this week is Child Protection Week, an important week in the calendar of the State and, indeed, the country. Child Protection Week is an initiative of the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect [NAPCAN], but a range of organisations support child protection. Bravehearts is holding a function in Parliament House tomorrow night. I am sure that many members will attend that function, as I will. At this time it is appropriate to reflect on the serious need for sensible and sustainable child protection policies to best care for the vulnerable children of New South Wales. New figures released this week show a small drop in the number of violent offences against children over the past year, but the numbers remain far too high. From April 2009 to March 2010 more than 20,000 violent assaults against children were reported, 70 per cent of which were committed by a person known to the child.

While no child protection system in the world can provide absolute guarantees against the dangers for children, the Keneally Government can hold its head high in the efforts being made to reform our system into the best it can be. This is backed by the $750 million commitment over five years to the Government's Keep Them Safe action plan. The delivery of Keep Them Safe marked the beginning of a new era of collaboration and partnership between government, community organisations and individuals. Great results are already being seen through the reforms that have been put in place. This is a comprehensive plan for the next five years. It begins from the principle that child protection is primarily the responsibility of parents, with a collective responsibility of the whole government and the community. It places prevention and early intervention as a clear priority in reducing the number of children and families requiring State intervention. It also provides strategies to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people in the child protection system.

Keep Them Safe is a new direction intended to dramatically change the way children and young people are supported and protected. All those involved right across the sector should be commended for the progress they have made in introducing this sweeping reform package. Obviously, much more still needs to be done in getting out the message of child protection and, indeed, of Child Protection Week—that is, that everyone shares the responsibility of keeping children safe. The shadow Minister referred to the recent survey by NAPCAN which found that fewer than 50 per cent of Australians would take action to protect a child who they believed was being abused. The same survey found that just one-third of people would call the police if a child told them they were being sexually abused. I would go so far as to say that these appalling figures from a survey on such an important issue are an embarrassing response for Australians.

The survey further revealed that when asked why they would not act, 48 per cent of respondents said it was because they feared they may be wrong, 44 per cent said it was because of possible consequences for themselves and 42 per cent said they believed it was not their business. These figures are concerning. Members opposite nod in agreement in absolute frustration that people would have that view. I have a very close female friend of my age who nowadays is brave enough to talk about the fact that she was physically abused by her father. At the time of this terrible occurrence she was not able to speak up. Now she is brave enough to talk about it, not publicly but amongst her family and friends. When I discussed these figures with her today she was appalled and disgusted. I say loudly and clearly that protecting children is everyone's business. Whether we are a neighbour, teacher, parent or relative, we must have the responsibility, courage and determination to speak up when we see something that is clearly and obviously wrong.

We must speak up also when we suspect something might be wrong; if there is no problem, that will be dealt with appropriately. Parents must be vigilant when leaving their children with someone, even if they are known to the family. The unpleasant reality is that children are more likely to be harmed by someone they know than by a stranger, as demonstrated by the case to which I just referred. In the past year, 70 per cent of violent offences against children were committed by a relative, parent, partner or someone known to the family. It is essential that everyone, especially parents and relatives, knows the signs of abuse and listens to children who seek help. Parents and relatives should teach children that abuse is never okay and therefore encourage them to report such crimes if they occur.

I am confident that the Government will continue to work with individuals, communities and organisations in order to get these messages out and to improve our child protection system. Child protection is everyone's responsibility. I take this opportunity in a sense of bipartisanship, especially noting the body language from those opposite, to encourage the Opposition to act responsibly by committing to supporting the Government's $750 million Keep Them Safe action plan, which is being implemented and seeing results. In my view this offers the best way forward in looking after the most vulnerable children in our State. It certainly is the foundation for the future operation of a system to encourage and implore people to be vigilant, and to not be scared about getting involved or that they may put themselves in a difficult situation. At the end of the process and at the end of the day becoming involved is about protecting children. It is about making sure that children come first before our own feelings. I look forward to working with NAPCAN, Bravehearts and others to continue to drive home this message in New South Wales. Mrs JUDY HOPWOOD (Hornsby) [7.14 p.m.]: I join with other members of this House to reiterate the importance of keeping our children safe. How could anybody live with themselves if they inflicted pain and suffering upon a child or if they did not do anything about it if they knew about it? It is unbelievable that so many people would be afraid to draw it to the attention of authorities if they believed a child was in danger. Children are our most vulnerable beings and certainly when unable to do anything about a situation in which they find themselves they need an adult's protection. If adults know something, they should do something about it. As has been stated, this is National Child Protection Week sponsored by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect [NAPCAN], whose work has been well and truly acknowledged. I draw to the attention of the House that many other organisations are concerned about children and their safety. I will speak about Bravehearts in more detail shortly. There is much concern about the increasing number of children who are apparently considered to be at risk—for example, homeless children. There is concern also about evidence in the media that children remain at risk despite efforts to stop that risk. We should not only highlight the increasing incidences of children at risk but also action effective policy to increase the safety of children. Bravehearts is Australia's leading child protection advocacy group. It was founded in 1997 by Mrs Hetty Johnston. I place on record my tributes to Hetty Johnston and to Bravehearts. We are all happy to take part in White Balloon Day to highlight the issues of child protection and the need to increase it.

Hetty Johnson held the inaugural White Balloon Day in Queensland. Since then Bravehearts has evolved to become an organisation whose purpose is to provide therapy, support and advocacy services to survivors of child sexual assault. Bravehearts makes a difference in child protection and is forging a movement for change in how child sexual assault is dealt with by the criminal justice sector, government institutions, churches and the community at large. Currently Bravehearts provides counselling services to hundreds of children a year. It has a long waiting list, owing to limited funds. The cost of providing that service is $100 million a year. As well as supporting survivors of child sexual assault, Bravehearts is unique in focusing on prevention and early intervention, as well as healing and activism. There are many reasons for the abuse and neglect of children. Some families may not have adequate support from relatives or the community. We must be vigilant and remember that the safety of children is everybody's business. Parents may be experiencing stress as a result of unemployment, illness, isolation and loneliness. They may not have experienced good parenting themselves or they may be alcohol or drug dependent. They may have a mental illness that is not adequately managed and there may be domestic violence in the household. The member for Goulburn and I have expressed a great deal of concern and expended considerable effort in addressing domestic violence. The member for Goulburn visited Hornsby's domestic violence network. The safety of children is strongly linked to domestic violence. I draw the attention of the House to an article published in the Sydney Morning Heraldon 6 September under the headlong, "Relatives who take over parents' role given greater rights". The article was written by a courts reporter, Bellinda Kontominas, and focuses on grandparents who take over the responsibility of children when parents cannot attend to their safety and wellbeing. I have had the experience of meeting a couple of grandparents who are doing exactly that in the Hornsby electorate. The article states:

All of a sudden you go from a grandmother, who can spoil the kids and give them back, to becoming a mother and a father and a grandmother at once ... There is enough emotional tension and upset going on without having to prove you are in charge.

Ms PRU GOWARD (Goulburn) [7.19 p.m.], in reply: It is with pleasure that I conclude this discussion by thanking members who expressed general agreement that children come first, which is as it should be. I draw attention to the shocking statistic revealing the enormous number of people—30 per cent—who believe that, even if a child is being sexually abused, they would not report the matter to police. This is a real wake-up call to Australian communities. It is time for us to ask ourselves: What sort of communities are we when a third of us would not report a child sexual abuse matter to police? We cannot consider ourselves to be a community with a conscience and belief in children if a third of us believe that even if we knew a child was being sexually abused we would not report that to police. As individuals we have to do much better. There is much more we can do to encourage people to come forward and feel that they will be supported in reporting such matters to police. The member for Keira stated that many people do not wish to report the matter to police because they are not sure how to proceed and they do not wish to get caught up in a process they do not understand. How could people sleep knowing that they had shut their eyes to a child continually being abused sexually, especially when we know the long-term shocking consequences of child abuse and child sexual abuse in particular? As members who participated in the discussion have pointed out, the issue does not concern sexual abuse only. Factors such as neglect as well as psychological and physical abuse are involved. The percentage to which I have referred is a wake-up call. It presents an opportunity for us to address the issue and to encourage those with mandatory reporting responsibilities, such as schools and medical practitioners, as well as neighbours, friends and relatives to affirm that their first obligation is to the child.

In the past week the House has spent a great deal of time debating the rights of the child. Irrespective of the side of the debate taken by members, the one thing we all agree upon is that the rights of the child are paramount. If the rights of the child come first in an issue such as adoption, which is relatively benign, they must absolutely come first when it comes to the right of the child to be kept safe. As the member for Keira stated, National Child Protection Week represents a big wake-up call for Australians and presents a real chance for us to rethink our approach to the issue. It is a call not only to governments but also to all the wonderful organisations that contribute so much effort to protecting children. It is an opportunity for everybody to think about the other side of the equation and how we can ensure in future that children in trouble are properly and rapidly responded to.

As stated by the member for Keira, the Government committed $750 million to Keep Them Safe. The Opposition supported that initiative following the report of an inquiry on the murder of two children at the hands of their parents. The reforms have been welcomed, but probably some tweaking still needs to be done. I have no doubt that the Government also takes the view that National Child Protection Week represents an opportunity to refine some of the changes that have been made. I look forward to evaluation of the changes that have been implemented.

A major reform recommended by Justice Wood was the shift from the Government to the non-government sector and the increasing provision of child protection services, particularly in early intervention and prevention, by the non-government sector. In the Government's implementation of reform, that is one thing that has been missing. While the Government accepted in theory that an increasing non-government organisation role was part of the report's recommendations, there is considerable frustration among the non-government sector at the very slow rate of movement in service delivery from government to non-government organisations. The Government should take note of that frustration and accelerate its actions to effect the shift.

As Justice Wood stated in his conclusions, the safety and wellbeing of children will be better delivered in myriad ways by a non-government sector working well with a government sector that is setting policies, undertaking evaluations, follows up on recommendations and has statutory responsibility for removing children from situations of harm. I reiterate my thanks to all members who participated in the discussion. I commend the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and all associated organisations that love children and have participated in National Child Protection Week.

Discussion concluded.