Page 795 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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Therefore, while it makes sense for material to be provided to parents about the prevention of sexual abuse, it makes far more sense for parents to be educated or have access to parenting courses that are appropriate for the age of their children. Such an approach can contribute to a reduction in all types of abuse of children, including emotional, psychological, physical and sexual abuse and neglect and abandonment.
I agree that educating parents about the signs their child may be being abused is helpful, and I note the comments the minister has just made about some of the work that is already happening here in the ACT. Information about protecting children from sexual abuse is provided by ParentLink, a long-time service delivered by the ACT government. This resource provides information about what parents can do to help children recognise when something is wrong, and when to tell others about it. It outlines behaviour to be concerned about and signs to watch out for. The ParentLink resources are promoted to new parents and referred to in the child’s health record known as the blue book, which records progress against developmental milestones. They are also promoted to new Canberrans and parents of first-time primary school children through the child and family centres.
Beyond the fact that such resources already exist and are promoted by the ACT government, the challenge becomes how we ensure that all parents are exposed to their existence and remain mindful of the information that has been provided to them. I suspect many people would find immediately after birth perhaps not the most appropriate time, but we need to get this information to parents early in a child’s life. Perhaps this is where maternal and child health nurses and/or playgroups can play a role.
Importantly, supports need to be available to children who have been abused, and to their non-offending parents, so that the negative effects can be minimised. With a number of my portfolios, I am really conscious of the support that we can provide to those who find themselves victims of these circumstances.
We have just appointed a new Victims of Crime Commissioner, and I imagine this will be an issue that is prominent on her list of issues she needs to address, particularly through the development of the charter of victims’ rights, which we are currently working on. That is a very important area of work, because we find that some people feel that the justice system does not support them adequately. That is why I am committed to developing this charter of victims’ rights, to make sure that we improve how we respond to people who have found themselves the victim of these sorts of crimes.
Within the corrections space, similarly, it is about making sure that our victim liaison officer is interacting appropriately with families who want to be updated with information about the perpetrator, about parole timings and those sorts of things. Making sure our system is working appropriately and sensitively is something I am very conscious of. It applies across many offences, but it is obviously particularly sensitive in the case of childhood sexual abuse.
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