Sydney, New South Wales Saturday 30 September 2017
The Hon. Justice Peter McClellan AMChair, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
The sexual abuse of a child is a terrible crime. It is perpetrated against the most innocent in our community. It is the gravest of personal violations.
Countless thousands of children have been abused in many institutions in Australia. Many institutions have had multiple abusers who sexually abuse children. We must accept that it has been occurring in every generation. We know that the risk to children remains today. Although as our institutional structures evolve, and our means of social interaction change, the circumstances of risk may vary, it is a mistake to assume that abuse in institutions will not occur. There is a need for continuing development of effective government regulation, improvement in institutional governance and increasing community awareness of the problem. There is a need for the education of the community with respect to the risks to children. We must also develop our understanding of the needs of those who have been abused and be prepared to respond to those needs.
http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/speeches/australia-and-new-zealand-association-of-psychothe
