[English] Oral Presentation - Response to Royal Commission into Catholic Church

[GuZz]

Good morning, members of the Victorian parliament.

     Australia is viewed internationally as a perfect nation, known for its laid back lifestyle, beautiful sandy beaches and delicious coffee. However, not all is perfect sunshine and incredible views, it has a far darker and hidden secret; one that we must all rally against. In early 2017 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse discovered that over the space of 35 years, 4444 people reported to superiors within the Catholic church that they’d been a victim of abuse. This shocking number does not discriminate; it includes boys and girls, from all corners of this 'perfect nation', where we should all be considered 'young and free'. On the 13th of June 2018, the Australian government tabled its response to the royal commission and has highlighted one of the key recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse; making it mandatory for suspicions of abuse within the church or guilty admissions from church clergy to be reported. The Victorian Government, you and I, must act on this recommendation. I contend that this government should introduce legislation making it mandatory for Catholic priests to report suspicions about abuse or admissions of guilt from church clergy. This will protect our children and the children of fellow Victorians now and in the future from experiencing what at least 4,444 others did.

     Firstly, it is important for all of us to properly consider the victims of this shocking institutional abuse. This legislation is crucial in protecting vulnerable children, from the debilitating predatory behaviour that has robbed many of their innocence and scarred many of those very children for the rest of their lives. The Royal Commission revealed that the average age of abused girls was only 10 and a half and 11 and a half for boys. No person should ever be subjected to this behaviour, including those that have no means to defend themselves or the maturity to even comprehend the nature of this exploitative behaviour. Senior Counsel Gail Furness made a revelation to the commission that "children were ignored or worse, punished', resulting in young children that already had limited power from finding any strength or courage to fight back. The effects of sexual abuse on innocent children are by no means limited to the short term. A report published by the Australian Government's Australian Institute of Family Studies suggests that victims of child sexual abuse are at a higher risk of developing major depression, panic disorder and alcohol dependency. Furthermore, victims are more likely to partake in risky sexual behaviour such as unprotected intercourse, multiple sexual partners and even teenage pregnancy. It is our responsibility to address this issue and improve the lives of young Victorians, the proposed legislation will do just that.

     Secondly, in a service to Victorians, we must lay the foundations towards shaping a system that no longer gives unquestioned power to religious denominations and establishments. They must be subject to the same scrutiny as any other organization, the same scrutiny as you and I. Francis Sullivan, the CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, uncovered findings that "About seven percent of Catholic priests in Australia were accused of sexually abusing children between 1950 and 2010". This statistic sends shivers down my spine and offers perspective to us all sitting here today. Put simply, the church has participated in this behaviour for too long. In some cases, such as the St John of God Brothers, a staggering 40% of religious brothers are believed to have abused children; this is an absolute tragedy for those that endured their abuse. More than 1,000 institutions have cases of alleged abuse and as I am sure you agree, this is 1,000 too many. American poet Maya Angelou once said "Money and power can liberate only if they are used to do so. They can imprison and inhibit more finally than barred windows and iron chains." It should be no surprise that council valuation data collected by The Sydney Morning Herald has presented compelling evidence that the total value of church property in Victoria totals more than $7.7b and $30b nationally, making it the largest and ultimately most powerful, non-government property owners in Australia. The victims of abuse have not only been victims of a single act, but the systematic, institutional power that has unfortunately been able to manifest and dominate our own political climate.

     Thirdly, this legislation is an important step towards helping stamp out a national pandemic of sexual abuse and assault. By introducing this new law we can help to combat the issue head on. What hope do we have in addressing the issue of domestic abuse, if we cannot even control it at an institutional level? Figures published by The Lancet highlight that 16.4% of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than their partner, placing our nation behind developing nations such as Uganda, Kenya and Costa Rica, who have reported rates closer to 12%. Whilst we can boast our strong economy, scientific advancements and world class education, we can still not guarantee the safety of our mothers and daughters. Alarmingly, these numbers are growing, not declining and the problem will continue to worsen without our intervention. Despite the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency's findings being touted by the Andrew's government in early 2018, sexual offences actually rose by 15.9% in the year 2017, a jump of 7142 criminal incidents, to an astronomical 8279. In that space of time, no solution has been sought, allowing for such disgusting behaviour to only manifest in our communities, our homes and in line with my delivery today, our churches.

     Finally, I must address concerns that this proposed legislation may force priests to decide between committing an ex-communicable offence for deliberating on matters that are discussed during confession or accepting a penalty, such as a hefty fine such as that introduced by the South Australian government, at a sum of $10 000, for refusing to disclose information to the authorities. Deep down in all our hearts, we all know that children must come first. The concealment of criminal confessions is never right. A priest that hides this disgusting behaviour is just as bad, if not worse then the perpetrator, this is a classic example of the bystander effect, which we have drilled into children from a very young age. If the Catholic church believes that keeping this behaviour hidden is the correct course of action, then I stand here to question the very morals they stand for and uphold. If the 'common' person has an obligation to report this criminal behaviour, why should it be any different for those inside the walls of the Church. I ask the priests and church clergy of Victoria, if someone you knew and cared for experienced such trauma, would you expect somebody to report it to the authorities? Would you expect justice? Would you even expect somebody to think twice? I know I wouldn’t; I know you wouldn't.

Any feedback regarding word choice, structure, arguments etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.