Recent reports in the media have centred on the case of an incestuous relationship between a father and his daughter. In this case it is understood that the incestuous relationship commenced when the daughter was an adult. Whilst NAPCAN has no place to make comment on the choice of consenting adults, the consequences of those choices in this particular case raise two significant issues: the rights of a child when there is a high risk of genetic abnormality, and rights of a child when adults seek public notoriety which may now surround the child for the rest of her life.
Of equal concern to NAPCAN is that media attention to sensational but isolated cases such as this may detract the Australian public's attention away from the greater social crisis facing our country. In the last year alone there were over 50,000 substantiated notifications to statutory authorities of children being abused or neglected in this country.
Children died, children were seriously injured and tens of thousands of children were physically, psychologically and emotionally damaged, and this number is growing every year. NAPCAN believes that the media and the public's attention needs to be focussed on action to prevent this abuse and neglect.
The results of a three-year long inquiry by former Supreme Court Justice Ted Mullighan into the abuse of children in state care in South Australia, is yet another reminder that the scars of abuse last a lifetime, and that past systems have dismally failed.
While acknowledging the enormous pain of those who have endured the horrors of sexual abuse, we must remember that many, many more stories remain untold. Sexual abuse remains the hardest issue to talk about, and we need to know that in the continuing silence of the majority, children continue to suffer.
Though the systems and institutions investigated by Justice Mullighan are long gone, his findings are a timely reminder that these systems and institutions have failed vulnerable children. Institutions and governments do not make great parents. Today most vulnerable children are placed into a family environment in foster care, but surely a far better outcome for these children would be not to have to be in out-of-home care in the first place.
This most recent state-based inquiry into the abuse of children in state care is an opportunity to draw a line in the sand, and develop a national strategy for the prevention of every form of child abuse and neglect, and take ownership of that strategy at every level.
NAPCAN endorses the Federal Government's commitment to develop such a strategy, but this strategy MUST focus on prevention. We can stop the cycle but it will require co-ordinated action by all levels of government and a commitment by each of us to ensure parents rear their children in safe, supportive and nurturing environments. This means the provision of a range of resources, education, and support services to ensure parents have the capacity to be parents. We must unselfishly acknowledge the social and economic hardships that lead to intolerable stress levels facing so many parents and lend them a hand.
Only then will the horrific cycle of child abuse and neglect be prevented. Yes, this will demand an enormous commitment by every Australian, but investing in prevention is an investment in the children and therefore life of our country.
NAPCAN welcomes the Government's decision to apologise to the Stolen Generations, as a vital first step in healing relations with our Indigenous brothers and sisters and creating a new climate of care. Support for this symbolic gesture demonstrates the courage and maturity of this nation in taking responsibility for past injustices that caused unimaginable pain to so many parents and children.
Past strategies have failed, dismally. Indigenous children continue to be the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in Australia today. If we are to provide for their well-being Government and agencies must cease to make unilateral decisions on behalf of Aboriginal communities and rather, enter into respectful and inclusive dialogue that will build capacity in the local community to provide what is best for their children.
In the past children were forcibly removed from their parents, families, and natural environments because one culture made choices without any attempt to understand or appreciate the strengths of the other, let alone the rights of parents to pass on that culture to their children.
Those of us too young to remember, or who had no role in the removal of children from their families, can easily say, 'It wasn't my fault. It's not my responsibility'. And nothing will change. On the other hand, we can join the Government and say Australia got it tragically wrong, we are sorry! Then each of us might start to take personal responsibility for the well-being of all of this country's children, and develop a whole of community approach to prevention of child abuse and neglect.
This historic occasion will never quite wipe the slate clean, nor remove every tear, but it does nevertheless provide us with a wonderful opportunity to let go of past practices and start afresh.
Children need protection from the grassroots up MORE
Despite statistics saying up to one in three males may have been targeted, sexual abuse is not a common topic for men to publicly admit to. Andrew Noble was once no exception to that rule. As a teenager, Andrew was subjected to repeated sexual abuse by a man working at his school. For more than a decade, Andrew remained silent. He felt isolated by his experiences and felt very much like a victim. When Andrew, now 27, finally found the courage to report his shocking treatment, he was stunned to discover that he was the first of many other youngsters to report suffering at the hands of the trusted school aide over a 10 year period. Until Andrew brought it to the attention of police, no one had been brave enough to speak out.
Andrew, a successful photographer, has chosen to share his story with the aim of increasing community awareness and creating a more open and understanding environment for victims of sexual abuse to have a voice. He believes children should be able to speak out and not feel intimidated by doing so. Visit Andrew's website HERE
Preventing parental alcohol abuse is the most urgent challenge in stemming the tide of child abuse and neglect in Australia according to Professor Dorothy Scott. MORE
by Teresa Scott, President NAPCAN
Day after day, page after page, story after terrible story we read about the epidemic of abuse and neglect gripping our nation. What other word can we use to describe a situation where more than 55,000 Australian children were harmed by abuse or neglect in 20052006? MORE
The death of a little child at the hands of an adult, particularly a parent, is perhaps the most unforgivable of crimes in our society. Yet even whilst understanding this overwhelming community dismay at Dean's death, many of us also felt great distress witnessing the rage expressed by the community towards Dean's mother, who has been charged with, not convicted of, her son's murder.
As details about the tragic circumstances of Dean's death are revealed, should we not, as a mature and civilised society, be asking ourselves the question, "How did we as a community fail to recognise, and respond to this mother's distress?", rather than vilifying her in order to vent our outrage and personal grief at a child's frightening death, The second question we need to ask is, "How can we learn from this tragedy and prevent it from ever happening again?"
Perhaps Dean's mother found herself in a place where she did not want to be, but with no capacity to get herself out. It would seem that there was no one she could turn to, let alone trust , who had the appropriate skills and knowledge to be there for her. Blaming Dean's mother is surely as pointless as blaming the other members of her family, or the residents of her street, or local child protection services.
"The fact is, there were approximately 56,000 substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect in Australia in 2005/2006, which is an absolute indictment of our society," NAPCAN EO Marie Fox said. "This statistic alone tells us very clearly that no government or department alone can turn around this problem in a timeframe which helps the most vulnerable members of our community. "We all have a part to play now in protecting all of Australia's children from harm and it's simply not enough to think it's 'someone else's' responsibility."
As paediatrician Dr Sue Packer AM says, "Rather than judge parents who are struggling, surely we need to recognise that some parents find being a parent is a nightmare from which they cannot escape. We need to get better at recognising the impossibility of their situation, and offer a genuine helping hand. If such help had been available to Dean's mother, this tragic outcome might have been averted."
It is only by courageously being able to recognise that we still have not got it right, that we will be able to boldly search for ways to prevent such a tragedy from being repeated. Every family in Australia needs to feel confident that there is help and understanding readily available when they can no longer cope.
Research brief and author interview podcast highlight recent research from the FPG Child Development Institute's Abecedarian Project. HERE
First in the new Early Childhood in Focus series from the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the Child and Youth Studies Group at The Open University (UK) focuses on attachment relationships between infants and caregivers. HERE
Report from Australia's Work + Family Policy Roundtable documents a national workshop HERE
"How Australia is Dismantling Public Education." By Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro
"This is the most can't-put-down book about schooling in Australia that I have read in a long time. ...It gives the clearest picture of where current school funding policies are taking us and it is nightmare country - especially for families wanting choice of schools. Bonnor and Caro say there are now too many schools across Australia , too many duplicated facilities, and not enough students to fill them." Maralyn Parker, The Daily Telegraph, July 18, 2007
"The Stupid Country presents an up-to-date and accessible primer for parents and other community stakeholders on the full range of issues that are current in Australian education. From school choice to academic standards and the culture wars, from school fees to funding, vouchers, league tables and the role of public education in our democratic society, the authors canvass the issues from a stance that is supportive of public education without indulging in unwarranted attacks on other school systems..
The final chapters canvass a range of measures that could be taken to improve school governance, strengthen enrolments and secure resources for our far-flung communities without breathless advocacy for a single "silver bullet" or a return to previous models that have outlived their usefulness. In this sense, the book serves to showcase the best of modern teaching practices, in which students are invited to consider the evidence and form their own response, in contrast to the from-the-pulpit harangue lately favoured by education ideologues.
Perhaps the most engaging aspect of The Stupid Country is its scrutiny of the many contradictions that misdirect so many people's thinking on education issues, from our prime minister down. For example, our school system is both deregulated yet heavily subsidised by government, all in the name of the free-market ideal of choice. And the very same commentators who insist that there has been a decline in education standards over the last 30 years - concurrent with the rise of school choice - continue to prescribe more "choice" as being the means to improve public school standards." Mercurius Goldstein, Online Opinion, August 7, 2007
This book warns of a future where the hardest schools for Australian parents to get their kids into will be public ones. With insight, passion and a great sense of urgency Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro show how government, anxious parents, the church and ideology are combining to undermine public schools. The Stupid Country is not a one-sided defence of public education. But it challenges us to consider whether we really want to continue stumbling blindly down our current path, risking the health of our public schools and everything they have created - our prosperity, unity, stability -even, perhaps, our democracy.
Read the review by Sydney Morning Herald Journalist Micheal Duffy HERE
This report from the Brotherhood of St Laurence has found that an estimated 37,000 babies each year are being born into the 21 most disadvantaged communities in Australia. The report finds that the higher the poverty rate per electorate, the higher the birth rate. This means that more Australian children are being born in areas of social disadvantage. The explanation for this phenomenon is not an increase in birth rates in disadvantaged electorates, but rather a reduction in birth rates in more affluent electorates.
Download the report HERE
Read the research paper on the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect commissioned by NAPCAN Queensland.
Download the Paper(590 KB) HERE
NAPCAN Executive Officer Adam Blakester's article on the National Child Protection Clearing House newsletter makes compelling reading, dealing with the impact and outcomes of child friendly communities. MORE
to the NT Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse Read (1.1MB) HERE
(President NAPCAN ACT) at the opening of National Child Protection Week in the ACT MORE
Tony Vinson in Communities, Families and Children Australia, Volume 1, Number 1, May 2006 MORE
