Political tokenism deflects criticism away from governments failing to act on child sexual abuse
How many stories, retelling of stories, royal commissions and inquiries are enough?
The first telling and the opaque outcomes
My first sharing of my brother’s story with government was in 2017 in a private session with Commissioner Bob Atkinson AO APM. I provided a written statement, and also spoke about my brother Ian, a deceased victim of child sexual abuse. Like so many, I was filled with hope and optimism that Australia’s largest royal commission ever, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) would create change.
My optimism faded when I started paying attention to, and reading everything publicly available, on what the Victorian government was reporting it was doing. The Victorian Government’s response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission is dismal. In summary, the Victorian Government:
- “accepted 128 recommendations where all elements of the recommendation were supported
- accepted in principle 165 recommendations where the Victorian Government supported the intent or merit of the recommendation but did not necessarily support the method for achieving the policy
- stated that Victoria would give further consideration to 24 recommendations where further analysis was required for the Victorian Government to determine its position”
Of 317 Royal Commission recommendations this translates to the Victorian Government not accepting 60% of them in full.
The Victorian government’s rejection of how to achieve 60% of desperately needed change and outcomes, reflects a lack of seriousness and sincerity about child sexual abuse.
The Victorian government’s fifth and final Annual Report on its’ progress in implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission, reports on only 300 recommendations. Nowhere in this report does it mention those recommendations it decided not to action, and why, or acknowledge how what has been implemented, deviates from what the Royal Commission recommended.
Last year I provided Stuart Grimley MP with the evidence of how poorly the Victorian Government’s annual reporting compared to the other states and territories annual reports. Mr Grimley called this out in Parliament on 17 August 2022. “827 MR GRIMLEY — To move — That this House — (1) notes —
To-date the Victorian government has not responded to the calls for it to match the transparency of their progress on the implementation of Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommendations, with that of the recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.
I, and other Victorians who shared stories with the Royal Commission, actually can’t find out and know, what doing so has achieved for Victorian survivors, families and communities.
The second telling and the resounding silence
Although I believed my sharing of my brother Ian’s story of child sexual abuse with the Royal Commission hadn’t resulted in the much-needed changes for Victorian survivors, families and communities, I shared Ian’s story again when the Victorian government asked.
This second time I provided more details in a written statement, including calls for action, which was provided along with a number of other people’s stories and statements at a meeting with the Victorian Premier on 6 February 2023. This meeting, which I didn’t attend, was about a planned apology by the Premier to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in government institutions from 1928 to 1990.
I also shared Ian’s story in an interview with the ABC at the time. “The Ararat resident and advocate for her brother and survivors said a sincere apology would be backed by action to support healing.
“Just an apology in and of itself can actually do more harm if the survivor or their family or their community are still desperately needing help,” Ms Walker said.
Ian Walker died aged 30 in 1997 following long-term battles with depression and anxiety, including suicidal ideation beginning from the age of 13.
His sister said he was an “exceptional” and “gifted” person, but struggled with substance abuse issues, unemployment and homelessness because of the abuse he suffered.
Ms Walker said a state government apology would be an acknowledgement not just of harm done but how it impacts people through their lives.
She said there was still a number of changes recommended in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which the government was yet to act upon.”
I never received any acknowledgement from the Premier or the Victorian government of the written statement sharing Ian’s story, I provided them with on 6 February 2023.
The outcome of telling Ian’s story for the second time was a resounding silence.
The third telling and political tokenism
On 13 July 2023, the Victorian Government “announced a Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School” and is asking victim-survivors “to put their experiences on the public record” of “historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School.”
If it sounds familiar, it really is.
Following are the scope and terms of reference from the Letters Patent for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse.
I shared Ian’s story with media on June 30, 2023, including my belief the Victorian Government’s Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School is political tokenism.
Why my personal experience smacks of tokensim
For me, the Victorian Government established their lack of sincerity about child sexual abuse, when I discovered they rejected the all-important ‘what and how to implement’ elements of 60% of the Royal Commission recommendations. In addition to ensuring their progress on recommendations they have implemented isn’t transparent to the public. Recommendations based on extensive consultation and stories, including my brother’s.
The recent sharing of my brothers story directly with the Victorian Premier, which included details of what the Premier now wants me to repeat as part of a Board of Inquiry, was met with silence.
The Victorian Premier and government is now asking me to repeat what it already knows. Knowledge it has already received directly from me, and others associated with Beaumaris Primary School, and indirectly from thousands of Australians whose stories informed the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission.
But what is most insincere and galling, is the Victorian Premier and government is now asking me and others to repeat what the Beaumaris And Surrounding Communities — CSA Survivors And Families group has already repeatedly shared with it, regarding “appropriate ways to support healing for affected victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected communities.” In our petition tabled in Victorian Parliament on 8 June 2022, which now has 13,173 signatures.
Our petition has been met with silence, not only when it was tabled, but by the Victorian government actively ignoring, and continuing to ignore, scores of email requests it has received from me since 1 February 2022. Requests to meet with the petition organisers, community members and supporters, to discuss piloting evidence-based, appropriate ways to support healing for affected victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected communities.
“Our petition seeks to increase the opportunities for disclosure of child sexual abuse, that result in the diagnosis and treatment of complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), needed for healing and recovery. Healing and recovery requires a diagnosis and treatment of complex PTSD AND services and treatment for the problems and symptoms caused by complex PTSD.
What this translates to is whatever service (health, social, welfare, employment, financial, justice and community) ‘door’ survivors and their families enter, is a safe place for disclosure of childhood sexual abuse, that enables access to all the services that meet their individual needs.
This petition is seeking crucial acknowledgement by local, state, and federal governments of this systemic child sexual abuse, through their provision of appropriately funded and accessible mental health, recovery, and healing services, and other assistance and support, for impacted individuals, families, friends, and members of the local communities.
Our vision includes piloting frameworks of accessible and integrated service systems that are already working well elsewhere in Australia, and in the world, in a couple of Victorian communities devastated by historic, systemic institutional child sexual abuse. The Ballarat community, and the Bayside communities of Melbourne.”
Political tokenism harms social discourse
For the many survivors, families and communities who have already shared their stories, it is exhausting to have to keep doing so. Especially when governments continue to not act on so many of our stories and our needs.
For even more survivors, families and communities thinking about sharing their stories, seeing how slow governments are to act on the voices it has already heard, must be discouraging.
Political tokenism deflects criticism
If there was one issue you think would be bi-partisan in politics, it is child sexual abuse. That politicians of every colour would support Australian governments investing heavily in the prevention of the maltreatment of children, and in the support of survivors, families and communities impacted by child maltreatment. Including the devastating individual, social and generational impacts of child sexual abuse.
Politicians routinely agree that defence of our national security is a bipartisan issue, why isn’t the defence of and support for our most vulnerable, our children, bipartisan too?
To witness the most reasonable of motions made in Victorian Parliament, and the evidence-based recommendations of the Royal Commission, treated by the Victorian government as something to debate, contest or just ignore, has, and continues to, shock me.
Child sexual abuse as a social issue is a responsibility of governments to act on. My personal experience has been bruisingly different.
