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🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

Victorian Premier Apologizes for Child Sexual Abuse in State Schools

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The Victorian government has formally apologized to victim-survivors of child sexual abuse in state government schools.
  • Premier Ben Carroll acknowledged systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur prior to 2000.
  • Reforms implemented since 2000, including Working with Children Checks and Child Safe Standards, aim to prevent future abuse.

The Victorian government has issued a formal apology to victim-survivors of child sexual abuse that occurred in state government schools before the year 2000.

Children and young people who should have been safe in Victorian government schools were sexually abused by people entrusted with their care. Students were not believed and their abusers were not held to account.

— Ben CarrollAcknowledging the systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur.

Premier Ben Carroll delivered the apology at Parliament House, acknowledging the "terrible reality" of systemic failures that endangered children. "Children and young people who should have been safe in Victorian government schools were sexually abused by people entrusted with their care," Carroll stated. He emphasized that students were often not believed, and their abusers were not held accountable.

The apology follows extensive consultation with victim-survivors through forums like the Forum for Truth and Recognition and the Beaumaris Board of Inquiry. These investigations revealed how perpetrators exploited weak regulations within the education system.

I want to say today's apology is not an ending. It is a start. It is a start for meaningful change, meaningful action and reform.

— Ben CarrollFraming the apology as the beginning of further action.

Since 2000, Victoria has enacted significant reforms, including Working with Children Checks, mandatory Child Safe Standards, the Reportable Conduct Scheme, and strengthened teacher registration requirements. These measures aim to enhance child protection and improve responses to allegations.

An organisational culture of looking the other way, of avoiding the hard questions, of failing to be adequately self-reflective or self-critical must never be allowed to take place again.

— Jess WilsonCalling for greater transparency and accountability within institutions.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson called for continued transparency and accountability, urging an end to organizational cultures that ignore or avoid difficult questions. Lawyers Arnold Thomas & Becker are representing over 730 former students in abuse allegations, with ongoing inquiries indicating systemic failures to protect children and properly address complaints. Some investigations suggest alleged offenders were moved between schools, leading to further alleged abuse.

The staggering number of people coming forward demonstrates the inherent failures of our education systems to implement effective policies and procedures to prevent, identify and respond to sexual and physical abuse within schools.

— Kim PriceHighlighting the scale of the problem and systemic issues.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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