On Aug 8, 2006, in Australia, the Board of Inquiry Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse was formed in response to reports in the Northern Territories of high rates of child sexual abuse among Aboriginal Australians. Former Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions Rex Wild QC and Pat Anderson, a Alyawarr woman with many years’ experience of working in Indigenous health, chaired the Board.
The Board released a report entitled All Children Are Sacred. Its findings, taken from the summary page, are:
Important points made by the Inquiry included:
* Child sexual abuse is serious, widespread and often unreported.
* Most Aboriginal people are willing and committed to solving problems and helping their children. They are also eager to better educate themselves.
* Aboriginal people are not the only victims and not the only perpetrators of sexual abuse.
* Much of the violence and sexual abuse occurring in Territory communities is a reflection of past, current and continuing social problems which have developed over many decades.
* The combined effects of poor health, alcohol and drug abuse, unemployment, gambling, pornography, poor education and housing, and a general loss of identity and control have contributed to violence and to sexual abuse in many forms.
* Existing government programs to help Aboriginal people break the cycle of poverty and violence need to work better. There is not enough coordination and communication between government departments and agencies, and this is causing a breakdown in services and poor crisis intervention. Improvements in health and social services are desperately needed.
* Programs need to have enough funds and resources and be a long-term commitment.
It is impossible to set communities on the path to recovery from the sexual abuse of children without dealing with the basic services and social ills. It is our hope that no Aboriginal child born from this year on will ever suffer sexual abuse.
Rex Wild QC and Pat Anderson, Inquiry Co-Chairs
It recommends:
Education
Education is the key to helping children and communities foster safe, well adjusted families. School is the way to keep future generations of Aboriginal children safe. Getting children to school every day is essential because:
* children are safe when they are at school
* school is a venue for educating children about child sexual abuse and protective behaviours
* education provides opportunity, empowerment and achievement and offers a way to overcome the social and economic problems which contribute to violence
* children can confide in their teachers.
The Inquiry urged the government to improve Aboriginal education systems, including local language development, to make education more effective for Aboriginal children.
A range of education campaigns
Education campaigns are recommended to inform people about:
* child sexual abuse and what to do about it
* mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse
* the impact of alcohol, pornography and gambling on communities, families and children
* the value of education, and encouraging a culture of parental and community commitment to sending children to school.
Alcohol
Alcohol remains the gravest and fastest growing threat to the safety of Aboriginal children. There is a strong association between alcohol abuse, violence and the sexual abuse of children. Alcohol is destroying communities. The Inquiry recommended urgent action be taken to reduce alcohol consumption in Aboriginal communities.
Family and Community Services (FACS) and the Police
Both need to work more closely with each other and with communities. It is important FACS and the Police build the trust of communities so everyone can work together to combat child sexual abuse. The Inquiry has also proposed an Advice Hotline so anyone who is concerned about possible child sexual abuse can call someone for confidential information and advice.
Family support services
Family support services need to be improved, particularly in Aboriginal communities, as this will help to strengthen families and keep children safe and healthy.
Empowerment of Aboriginal communities
Communities can take more control and make decisions about the future. The Inquiry’s report suggests ways in which this can happen including the role which men and women can play, the introduction of community justice groups and better dialogue between mainstream society and Aboriginal communities.
Commissioner for Children and Young People
The Inquiry recommends that the government appoint a senior, independent person who can focus on the interests and wellbeing of children and young people, review issues and report to Parliament.
John Howard's government, however, does not give a shit about Indigenous peoples' rights. Here's a list of what these idiots actually did, as reported by Oxfam:
1. Introducing widespread alcohol restrictions on Northern Territory Aboriginal land.
2. Introducing welfare reforms to stem the flow of cash going toward substance
abuse and to ensure funds meant to be for children’s welfare are used for that
purpose
3. Enforcing school attendance by linking income support and family assistance
payments to school attendance for all people living on Aboriginal land and
providing meals for children at school at parents’ cost
4. Introducing compulsory health checks for all Aboriginal children to identify
and treat health problems and any effects of abuse
5. Acquiring townships prescribed by the Australian Government through
five year leases including payment of just terms compensation
6. As part of the immediate emergency response, increasing policing levels in
prescribed communities, including requesting secondments from other
jurisdictions to supplement NT resources, funded by the Australian
Government.
7. Requiring intensified on ground clean up and repair of communities to make
them safer and healthier by marshalling local workforces through work-for-
the-dole
8. Improving housing and reforming community living arrangements in
prescribed communities including the introduction of market based rents and
normal tenancy arrangements
9. Banning the possession of X-rated pornography and introducing audits of all
publicly funded computers to identify illegal material
10. Scrapping the permit system for common areas, road corridors and
airstrips for prescribed communities on Aboriginal land, and;
11. Improving governance by appointing managers of all government business in
prescribed communities
12. Abolition of the CDEP scheme [a further key step in the Emergency Response
being implemented in the Northern Territory announced 23 July 2007]]
Howard's response ignores several of the recommendations of Little Children are Sacred. It introduces several measures that were not asked for, and some may be harmful to Aboriginal communities. It was not planned in consultation with Aboriginal leaders.
Originally, the Australian government was quite involved in the planning of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Australia was moving toward greater recognition for Aborigines. And yet, Howard's government has backtracked on Aboriginal rights, and refused to sign the Declaration. Do you think they might have something to hide?
In the next part, I'll tell you more about point 5.
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