This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
Showing posts with label violence against women and children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label violence against women and children. Show all posts
Violence against women and girls in Australia follows a distressingly predictable path in 2022.
By 20 July this year the number of women reported in the media as dying as the result of violent attack by another person stood at 25 dead.
That is roughly one woman being killed every 8 days.
This figure relies on media reports of such deaths, which often can mean a significant under reporting of the real number of women and girls who die at the hands of partners, former partners, family members, acquaintances or strangers over a given period.
It's hard to imagine this particular draft plan when implemented making much difference to the violent related gender-based death toll, when the preceding four (beginning in 2010-2013) have failed to bring this century's femicide count down below that 'one-a-week' sticking point in Australia.
BACKGROUND
Violence
against women and children in Australia is mostly perpetrated by men.
Around four in five, family and domestic violence offenders are male.
Men’s violence against women, including intimate, partner violence,
is more prevalent, more often used repeatedly and more likely to lead
to serious injury, disability or death. More than one in three
Australians have experienced violence by a male perpetrator since the
age of 15, compared to one in ten by a female perpetrator. While men
can also be victim-survivors of family, sexual and domestic violence,
men are more likely to experience violence from a stranger…..
Family,
domestic and sexual violence also causes a huge economic impact with
KPMG estimating this scourge costs Australia around $26 billion each
year, 40 with victims and survivors bearing approximately 50 per cent
of that cost.
Importantly,
while sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence can occur in
the context of domestic and family violence, it can also be
perpetrated by other people known or unknown to the victim-survivor.
In order to be effective, it is critical that our efforts to prevent,
address, and respond to sexual violence recognise both the
intersections and clear points of difference between domestic and
family violence and sexual violence…..
Family,
domestic and sexual violence also causes a huge economic impact with
KPMG estimating thisscourge
costs Australia around $26 billion each year, with victims and
survivors bearingapproximately
50 per cent of that cost.
[Australian
Government, (January 2022), “Draft
National
Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032,
pp. 11-12, 15]
“Counting
Dead Women Australia 2021. We count every known death due to violence
against women in Australia: 32
by September 26.” [This count relies on publicly available information published by media outlets.]
A total of 396 homicides and related offences occurred between between 1 January and 31 December 2020.
131 of those or an est. 33 per cent of all victims were females.
Most of these homicides & attempted homicides occurred in a residential setting, including the family home.
A total of 99 of those 396 homicides and related offences occurred in New South Wales.
25 of those 99 or an est. 25.25 per cent of all NSW victims were females.
Most of the women and girls were either related to the perpetrator or otherwise knew them.
The
number of police recorded victims of family and domestic violence
related sexual assault increased by 13 per cent in 2020, according to
an Australian Bureau of Statistics media
release.
Close
to two in five victims of sexual assault recorded by police
throughout 2020 were FDV-relatedand,
almost three quarters of FDV-related sexual assault victim-survivors
were aged under 19 years at the time the incident occurred (71 per
cent) and the majority were female (86 per cent).
In NSW 81 per cent or 9,120 victims of sexual assault in 2020 were female and, around
two in five (38 per cent) sexual assault incidents were FDV-related (4,288
victims).
NSW
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), June 2021 Update:
Additionally, in NSW in 2020 an est. 30,506 females were the victims of assault and, a higher proportion of females (54% or 16,430 victims) were assaulted by a family member compared with males (24% or 8,263 victims).
Domestic
Violence statistics demand more action: Saffin
ZERO
tolerance and more well-targeted action by New South Wales and
Federal governments are needed to prevent the growing scourge of
coercive control and domestic violence, according to Lismore MP
Janelle Saffin.
Ms
Saffin said she kept a close eye on Bureau of Crime Statistics and
Research’s (BOCSAR) quarterly updates, the latest of which (June
2021) shows major crimes against women had continued to trend upwards
before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The
June 2021 update – see, www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au--
revealed that in the 24 months to June 2021, only one of the 17 major
crime categories was trending upwards in New South Wales and it was
sexual assault.
In
BOCSAR’s media release, they highlighted increased reporting of
incidents of sexual assault. This crime went up by 1367 incidents or
21 per cent in New South Wales over the year to June 2021.
In
the Richmond-Tweed statistical area, incidents of domestic violence
are up 33 per cent on a two-year trend and up 5.8 per cent on a
five-year trend.
Also
in Richmond-Tweed, incidents of intimidation, stalking and harassment
are up 30.2 per cent on a two-year trend and up 8.6 per cent on a
five-year trend.
Ms
Saffin said she understood that increased reporting also applied to
these two crimes.
“I
commend our local police for their zero tolerance of domestic
violence and strong proactive approach to compliance checks,” Ms
Saffin said.
“I’ve
written to NSW Attorney-General and Minister for the Prevention of
Domestic and Sexual Violence Mark Speakman, asking him to organise a
BOCSAR briefing for me and other MPs here if they wish to join, so we
can consider further action that could be taken in terms of community
programs.
“We
cannot ignore these statistical trends because they represent such a
high human cost; if we can better interpret this raw data it will
then inform that discussion.”
Ms
Saffin said progress was being made with a NSW Parliamentary Joint
Select Committee in June this year recommending that coercive control
should be a criminal offence in New South Wales, in an effort to
prevent domestic abuse-related homicide.
Ms
Saffin also noted that the 2021-22 Federal Budget had included a
$3.4-billion package of measures to improve outcomes for women’s
safety, economic security, and health and wellbeing.
The
outcomes of the National Summit on Women’s Safety – Ending
Violence Against Women & Children – held online on September
6-7, would help guide the $1.1-billion women’s safety component
over three years.
Ms
Saffin’s Electorate Office in Lismore is now an official stockist
for escabags, free escape bags filled with the necessities that a
victim of domestic violence and their children may need when fleeing
an abusive or dangerous situation.
There
are two types of escape bags available -- one for a parent and child,
and one for a single adult.
As at June 2021 three of the local government areas in NE NSW with the highest number of domestic violence incidents for the last 12 months were Tweed Shire at 363, Lismore City at 274, and the Clarence Valley at 231, with Kyogle having the lowest at 32 - numbers for the remaining three local government areas fell in between. [See: https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Publications/RCS-Quarterly/NSW_Recorded_Crime_June_2021.pdf]
As of 15 June Destroy The Joint's Counting Dead Womenproject has recorded 19 women violently killed in 2021.
This project relies on media reports for its data and at the moment these 2021 reports show that violent deaths are averaging one every 8.73 days.
On 9 July 2020 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia covering the calendar year 2019, with data based on police records.This is the latest release available to date. ABS data for 2020 should be released on or about 24 June 2021.
In 2019 there were 416 homicides, manslaughters and attempted murders recorded in Australia. Up 39 victims on 2018 figures.
An est. 125 of these victims were female and the majority of the violent deaths and near deaths appear to have been the result of family and domestic violence.
In that same calendar year Counting Dead Women recorded 61 women who died violently at the hands of another person..
“The
Australian Government has agreed to (in full, in-principle, or
in-part) or noted all 55 recommendations in the Report.”
[Australian
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, media
release,
8 April 2021]
“are
either agreed wholly in part or in principle, or noted where they are
directed to governments or organisations other than the Australian
government”[Australian
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, quoted in Sky
News
online, 8 April 2021]
So
after ignoring the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in
Australian Workplaces Final
Report for over 12 months, what do Morrison’s weasel words
in the quotes above indicate?
*
order a survey every four years to provide data on sexual
harassment;
*
provide educational resources for young people of working age
on workplace rights and sexual harassment;
*
educate and
train
staff at theFair
Work Ombudsman,
Fair
Work Commission,
Safe
Work Australia,
WHS
regulatorsand
workers’
compensation
bodies concerning
sexual harassment;
*
lead a new collaboration by
government,
unions, employers
and employer associations called Respect@Workaka
the Workplace
Sexual Harassment Council;
and
*
the Workplace
Sexual Harassment Council is
charged with:
a.
providing
high-level advice on development of guidelines and resources to
ensure that all services providing information, advice and support in
relation to sexual harassment can provide accurate information, make
appropriate cross-referrals, and collect consistent data
b.
after three years, considering
the need for a centralised, accessible service
to provide information and advice in relation to workplace sexual
harassment;
*
develop
a Respect@Work
website to provide the general public, employers and workers with
free information; and
*
Advise
all state
governments
that they should ensure that relevant bodies responsible for
developing
training, programs and resources for judges, magistrates and tribunal
members make
available education on sexual harassment.
Somehow in this 7-item list I don't see any immediate, hands-on, practical actions by the Morrison Government that will see the rates of sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical assault and/or murder by a partner or former partner, of women and girls in any state or territory decrease in the next few years.
“When
Scott Morrison says he’s listening, it’s usually to himself.” [Dennis
Aitkins
writing in The
New Daily,
27 March 2021]
“This
prime minister speaks almost exclusively to one cohort of voters: men
at risk of voting Labor.” [Political
editor and journalist Katharine
Murphy,
writing in The
Guardian,
27 March 2021]
Around
60 women and eight men joined together in Iluka on Monday of last
week in the Clarence Valley march4justice protest march, organised by
Berri Brown (Iluka) and Robin Thomas (Woombah) to say, “Enough is
Enough”.
Berri
Brown, shared her reason for protesting, saying that, “Domestic
violence is about emotional, financial and verbal abuse. I want
things to change so that my little girl will be able to go about her
day in the knowledge that whatever she decides to do in her future
she will never have to be silenced or not be believed if this was to
happen to her”.
Guest
speaker Prue Leggoe OAM of Maclean said, “Of the 60 women present
only one woman put up her hand to say she had never experienced
sexual harassment or abuse. One of the men attending said he was
there to stand for his two daughters who had experienced sexual
abuse. This is a devastating statistic”.
Prue
added that is seemed that nothing had changed since she had
experienced sexual harassment when a Member of the Victorian
Parliament 40 years ago. “It seems to have gotten worse in
Parliaments, where power is used to manipulate and frighten an abused
person, and workplaces continue to be unsafe for many women and men.”
She said…...
The
early signs of an earthquake can often be easy to miss.
Above
the ground, the initial tremors can seem innocuous. But deep below,
the tectonic shifting of plates can set in motion a series of events
that rip apart the earth and bring down all that stands above it.
Prime
Minister Scott Morrison could be forgiven for missing the early signs
of the quake that would destabilise his government and upend the
nation's political landscape.
When
those early tremors started, Morrison was riding high. The nation was
bouncing back from an economic recession and the man who'd won an
unlikely victory years earlier appeared on track for re-election.
His
focus was solely on a successful vaccine rollout, which he hoped
would bolster the public's confidence in his government.
Weeks
later, he'd find himself inside the House of Representatives, all but
praising the nation for not shooting the protesters that had gathered
outside.
"This
is a vibrant liberal democracy," he offered.
"Not
far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets,
but not here in this country."
Scott
Morrison is a man under pressure.
He
has two Cabinet ministers, representing a quarter of the government's
national security committee, on medical leave.
His
government is facing allegations of a toxic culture towards women,
particularly young female staffers.
Morrison
played an unlikely role in the catalyst that would shake the
foundations of the nation's Parliament.
He
beamed as he stood alongside Grace Tame as she held her Australian of
the Year trophy — an all-but-typical sight for a Prime Minister
each January.
It
was this sight that gave former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins the
confidence to come forward only weeks later, and make public an
allegation that she had been raped in a ministerial office, mere
metres from the Prime Minister's office within Parliament House.
As
she stepped forward into the light, so too came other women across
the nation, each unearthing a growing list of allegations that ranged
from bullying to sexual assault.
It
derailed the government's planned focus on vaccines and forced the
Coalition onto the back foot. The days of solely focussing on the
pandemic are ending and with that comes greater scrutiny of the
government on multiple fronts.
The
Prime Minister knows all too well the power of marketing and imagery.
He
projects the image of a daggy dad, the Sharks-loving, cap-wearing
suburban everyman who builds chicken coops for his daughters.
So
you only had to see the shirt he was wearing — the national netball
team's — when he got his first COVID-19 vaccine to realise how
aware he was about the reputational damage being inflicted on his
government because of its culture towards women.
That
culture has been a scourge on Parliament House long before Scott
Morrison became Prime Minister.
But
as the leader of the government it's his task to handle.
He's
faced blowback for saying he had to talk to his wife to realise he
had to respond to Brittany Higgins's allegations as if they were
coming from his own daughters.
He's
also faced criticism for referring to Ms Higgins as "Brittany",
rather than Ms Higgins.
The
same way he referred to Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison
McMillan, a professor, as "chief nurse Alison", while Chief
Medical Officer Paul Kelly gets a "Professor Kelly".
Though
each are small, the Prime Minister is facing questions about if they
add up to something bigger.
"Not
so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete," Labor leader Anthony
Albanese offered in Parliament yesterday……
Former
chief medical officer Brendan Murphy or the former NSW fire chief
Shane Fitzsimmons were heavy favourites to be named Australian of the
Year.
If
either man had been awarded the honour, they'd have easily joined the
ranks of the distinguished Australians to hold the position.
And
if Murphy or Fitzimmons had been named Australian of the Year, it's
unlikely the nation would still be talking about them more than a
month later.
It's
very possible it would've meant the Prime Minister would still be
riding high, talking about the vaccine and an economy in recovery.
Grace
Tame changed all that.
She
has advanced a reckoning that has long hung over the nation's
Parliament and its treatment of women.
It's
grown into a story beyond Parliament House and forced the nation to
confront how women in all walks of life are treated in Australia.
There
is no quick fix that Morrison could announce to solve this problem.
To
change a culture takes time.
But
for the tens of thousands who rallied around the nation, they were
looking for signs the nation's leaders were listening.
What
they heard was a Prime Minister who said they should be thankful they
weren't shot.
On 15 March 2015 women and girls marched in villages, towns and citiesspread across Australia from coast to coast.
They marched demanding that gender-based violence against women and children stop.
A demand which insists that the federal government listen, act and lead a long overdue change in institutional attitudes which either turn a blind eye to or openly condone sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, the double burden for many women of gender based discrimination coupled with racial discrimination and, a shameful murder rate which sees women murdered by their current partners or former partners at the rate of one woman every nine days [House of Representatives, Hansard, p.62].
Here are just some of the images from that 14 to 15 March which were
Having a super normal one back on the old work commute. But the women are coming because enough is enough and tomorrow we #March4Justice! pic.twitter.com/ouFE4tGcjQ
(a) The National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces
Workplace sexual harassment is prevalent and pervasive: it occurs in every industry, in every location and at every level, in Australian workplaces. Australians, across the country, are suffering the financial, social, emotional, physical and psychological harm associated with sexual harassment. This is particularly so for women.
This behaviour also represents a very real financial impost to the economy through lost productivity, staff turnover and other associated impacts.
In June 2018, against the backdrop of the momentum of the #MeToo movement and recognition of the prevalence of, and immense harm caused by sexual harassment in Australian, and global, workplaces, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and the then Minister for Women, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, announced the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (Inquiry).
As Australia’s national human rights institution, the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) was tasked with undertaking this Inquiry. The Commission has an established record of undertaking initiatives aimed at addressing sexual harassment and promoting gender equality.
In the Terms of Reference, the Commission’s task was to review and report on workplace sexual harassment and make recommendations in relation to:
• its prevalence, nature and reporting in Australian workplaces
• the role of technology
• its drivers, including risk factors for particular population groups or in different workplace settings
• the current legal framework
• existing measures to address it and examples of good practice
• its impacts on individuals and businesses, including its economic impact.
This report outlines the Commission’s findings and recommendations. The full list of recommendations is set out at the end of this Executive Summary.
The purpose of this Inquiry is to improve how Australian workplaces prevent and respond to sexual harassment, including through an examination of the systemic issues set out in its Terms of Reference.
The Commission established a Reference Group to provide advice and guidance for the Inquiry. It included members from across government, business groups, unions, academia and the legal and community sector (see Section 1.4(b) for a list of members). The Commission acknowledges and thanks Reference Group members for their valuable assistance with engaging stakeholders and providing frank and robust advice and guidance on the Inquiry.
The Commission received 460 submissions from government agencies, business groups, community bodies and, above all, victims. From September 2018 to February 2019, the Commission conducted 60 consultations as part of the Inquiry, with more than 600 individuals participating in all capital cities and some regional locations across Australia. It also held three roundtables and numerous meetings with key stakeholders.
This report is a reflection of the contributions of many individuals and organisations and the Commission is grateful to those who took the time to attend a consultation, write a submission or assist the Inquiry.
There is an urgency and demand for change across all corners of society.
Australia is also being closely watched internationally. This is Australia’s moment to be a global leader on this important and topical issue.
On
Wednesday 3 March 2021, Australian of the Year, 26 year-old Grace
Tame gave a televised National Press Club of Australia Address.
This
is the news.com.au
published transcript of that address. It does not include the
question and answer period at the end of the address:
“In
April of 2010, I was battling severe anorexia. Truth be told, I still
am.
“This
illness had nearly taken my life the year prior, and seen me
hospitalised twice. Bone thin and downed in fine down hairs from
malnourishment, I was picked on for the way I looked. My mum was
eight months pregnant at 45. I was a 15-year-old student at a private
girls’ school in Hobart.
“I
arrived later to discover the rest of my Year 10 classmates were
attending a driving lesson off campus I had completely forgotten
about. Lapses like this weren’t uncommon – I was barely there.
One of the senior teachers saw me walking around aimlessly in the
courtyard. He was very well respected, the head of maths and science
at the school for nearly 20 years. He taught me in Year 9. I thought
he was funny. He told me he had a free period and asked me to chat
with him in his office. He asked me about my illness, I talked, he
listened. He promised to help me, to guide me in my recovery.
“As
a teenager with no frame of reference, and thinking nothing odd of
this, I told my mother about the conversation. My parents had a
meeting with the school principal, requesting the teacher stay away
from me. In (a) meeting I then had, I think to apologise to him for
putting him in this position in front of the principal. I was told I
had done something wrong.
“Thus,
the first seeds of terror, confusion, and self-doubt were sewn in my
mind. Indeed, it didn’t make sense. In secret, he was adamant I
still come to see him. To talk. My parents were against me, he
insisted. I was not to tell them because they wouldn’t understand.
Pregnant women, he said, were full of hormones. That must be why my
mother and I were arguing.
“He
gave me a key in his office, where it was always music playing, and
the same music always, Simon and Garfunkel. Over a period of months
he made me feel safe. I was sexually abused as a six-year-old by an
older child who told me to undress in a closet before molesting me.
He told me he would never hurt me. Until he did. By way of a
masterful re-enactment I didn’t see coming. With a closet. And an
instruction to undress.
“Most
of you know the story from there. That is, how I lost my virginity to
a 58-year-old paedophile and spent the next six months being raped by
him at school nearly every day on the floor of his office. When I
reported him to police, he found 28 multimedia files of child
pornography on his computer. As per the lasting impact of and
manipulative grooming and a four months after the abuse, I
effectively defended him in my statement. I was terrified he would
find out I betrayed him and he would kill me. He was two years in
jail for maintaining a sexual relationship with a person under the
age of 17.
“Repairing
myself in the aftermath of all this was not a simple, linear
undertaking. For every step forward, there were steps back and to the
side, and some almost off the edge. I saw counsellor after
counsellor. But I also abused drugs, drank, moved overseas, cut
myself, threw myself into study, dyed my hair, made amazing
friendships, got ugly tattoos, worked for my childhood hero, found
myself in violent relationships, practised yoga, even became a yoga
teacher.
“I
starved, I binged, and I starved again. One of the toughest
challenges on my road to recovery was trying to speak about something
we were taught is unspeakable. I felt completely disconnected from
myself and everyone around me. Many people didn’t know how to
respond. That said, the ones who listened, the ones who were eager to
understand, even when they couldn’t, made all the difference.
“Still,
the doubt lingered. How could I have been so stupid, as to not see
what this man was doing from the outset? Was it my fault? Should I
have known it was a lie when he said he learned more from me than any
of his other students? Maybe I should have been more alarmed when he
asked me if I knew where my clitoris was. It was when the perpetrator
was released after serving 19 months for abusing me, correction,
maintaining a sexual relationship with me as a 15-year-old, and then
spoke freely to the media about how awesome it was, I realised we had
this all around the wrong way.
“Add
the fact this man was awarded a federally funded PhD scholarship to
the only university in my state. My mother was studying there. She
soon dropped out because of his presence. In fact, he was put in
student accommodation. Despite multiple reports to police by fellow
students of his predatory behaviour, and once again convicted and
jailed for his vulgar public comments during his PhD tenure, he was
eventually awarded a doctorate.
“After
all this, it became quite obvious to me why child sex abuse remains
ubiquitous in our society, while predators retain the power to get
what they want, to objectify their targets through free speech, the
innocent, survivors and bystanders alike, are burdened by a
shame-induced silence.
“I
connected with groundbreaking fellow survivor and journalist, Nina
Funnell. I needed to raise awareness and educate others about sexual
abuse and the prolonged psychological manipulation that belies it.
After months of recounting, retraumatising details, tearfully
transposed by Nina, we discovered we were barred by section 194k of
Tasmania’s evidence act, that made it illegal for survivors of
child sexual abuse to be identified by the media, even after turning
18, even with their consent. Nina created the Let Her Speak campaign
to reform this law. We were then joined by 16 other brave survivors
who lent their stories to the cause. The law was officially changed
in April last year, almost 10 years to the day from the beginning of
my story.
“It
is so important for our nation, the whole world, in fact, to listen
to survivors’ stories. “Whilst they’re disturbing to hear, the
reality of what goes on behind closed doors is more so. And the more
details we omit for fear of disturbance, the more we soften these
crimes. The more we shield perpetrators from the shame that is
resultedly misdirected to their targets. “When we share, we heal,
reconnect, and grow. Both as individuals and as a united strengthened
collective. History, lived experience, the whole truth, unsanitised,
and unedited, is our greatest learning resource. It is what informs
social and structural change. The upshot of allowing predators a
voice but not survivors encourages the criminal behaviour.
“Through
working with Nina, finally winning the right to speak, and talking
with fellow campaign survivors and countless other women and men who
have since come forward, it has become clear that there is the
potential to do so much more to support survivors of child sexual
abuse to thrive in life, beyond their trauma. And more so, to end
child sexual abuse. It is my mission to do so. And it begins right
now. As a fortunate nation, we have a particular obligation to
protect our most vulnerable. Our innocent children, and especially
those further disadvantaged through circumstance, being part of a
minority group, or geographical location. And there are three key
areas that we can focus on to achieve this.
“Number
one, how we invite, listen, and accept the conversation, and lived
experience of child sexual abuse survivors. You have heard me say it
before, it all starts with conversation. Number two, what we do to
expand our understanding of this heinous crime, in particular, the
grooming process, through both formal and informal education. Number
three, how we provide a consistent national framework that supports
survivors and their loved ones, not just in their recovery, but also
to disempower and deter predators from action.
“So,
what is it that we must do? First and foremost, let’s keep talking
about it. It’s that simple. Let’s start by opening up. It is up
it us as a community, as a country, to create a space, a national
movement where survivors feel supported and free to share their
truths. Let’s drive a paradigm shift of shame away from those who
have been abused and onto abusive behaviour. Let’s share the
platform to remind all survivors that their individual voice matters
amongst the collective. Every story is imbued with unique catalytic
educative potential that can only be told by the subject. Let us
genuinely listen, actively, without judgment, and without advice to
demonstrate empathy and reinsure it never was our fault. Further to
this point, while I must express my unflinching gratitude for this
new-found platform, I would like to take this particular opportunity
to directly address the media with a constructive reminder – the
need for which has become starkly apparent to me this past month.
“Hosts,
reporters, journalists, I say to you – listening to survivors is
one thing – repeatedly expecting people to relive their trauma on
your terms, without our consent, without prior warning, is another.
It’s sensation. It’s commodification of our pain. It’s
exploitation. It’s the same abuse. Of all the many forms of trauma,
rape has the highest rate of PTSD. Healing from trauma does not mean
it’s forgotten, nor the symptoms never felt again. Trauma lives on
in ourselves. Our unconscious bodies are steps ahead of our conscious
minds. When we’re triggered, we’re at the mercy of our emotional
brain. In this state, it’s impossible to discern between past and
present. Such is retraumatisation.
“I
cried more than once while writing this. Just because I’m been
recognised for my story doesn’t mean it’s fair game anywhere, any
time. It doesn’t get any easier to tell. I may be strong, but I’m
human, just like everyone else. By definition, truths cannot be
forced. So grant us the respect and patience to share them on our own
terms, rather than barking instructions like take us back to your
darkest moment, and ‘tell us about being raped’. The cycle of
abuse cannot be broken simply by replaying case histories, we cannot
afford to back track. Else, we’ll go around in circles, trapped in
a painful narrative, and we’ll all get tired, both as speakers and
listeners. We’ll want to switch off and give up. And retreat once
more into silence.
“On
average, it takes 23.9 years for survivors of child sexual abuse to
be able to speak about their experiences. Such is the success of
predators at instilling fear and self-doubt in the minds of their
targets. More so than they are masters of destroying our trust in
others, perpetrators are masters of destroying our trust in our own
judgment. In ourselves. Such is the power of shame. A power, though,
that is no match for love. When I disclosed my abuse to another of my
teachers, Dr William Simon, his absolute belief in me was the only
assurance I needed to tell the police. It helped me recover a little
of my lost faith in humanity. There certainly isn’t a single rigid
solution. Solutions will naturally come in due course by allowing and
enabling voices to be heard.
“Certainly,
talking about child sexual abuse won’t eradicate it, but we can’t
fix a problem we don’t discuss, so it begins with conversation.
Which brings me to my second point: from there, we need to expand the
conversation to create more awareness and education. Particularly
around the process of grooming.
“Grooming
– it’s a concept that makes us wince and shudder and as such, we
rarely hear about it. To the benefit of perpetrators. While it haunts
us, and we avoid properly breaking it down, the complexity and
secrecy of this criminal behaviour is what predators thrive on. In
turn, we enable them to charm and manipulate not just their targets,
but all of us at once, family, friends, colleagues and community
members, and this must stop. Our discomfort, our fear, and resulting
ignorance needs to stop giving perpetrators the power and confidence
that allows them to operate.
“As
a start, we should all be aware of what has been identified as the
six phases of grooming, that certainly ring true in my experience.
Number one, targeting. That is, identifying a vulnerable individual.
In my case, I was an innocent child, but I was anorexic, with
significant change happening at home. Number two, gaining trust. That
is, establishing a friendship and falsely lulling the target into a
sense of security, by empathising and assuring safety. For me, that
is what I thought was listening to my challenges. Empathising with my
situation, and providing me a safe space to retreat to when I needed
it. Number three, filling a need. That is, playing the person that
fills the gap in a target’s mental and emotional support. In my
case, although I was surrounded by an incredibly attentive family and
team of medical professionals, most of their support came in the form
of tough love. The teacher thus assumed the role of sympathiser,
telling me what I wanted to hear. Number four, isolating, driving
wedges between the target and their genuine supporters. This involves
pushing certain people away, but exploiting others. I remember
studying the film Iron Jawed Angels in history. The main character is
force fed, much like I had been. Aware of my distress upon seeing
this, my history teacher quietly led me out of the classroom. I said
nothing. But she took me straight to his office. Where she left me
with him. Panicked, in tears. It wasn’t until many years later I
questioned why she and other staff would take me to him when I was
upset. Staff he privately mocked and referred to as ‘the menopausal
virgins club’. He must have told them. Number five, sexualising.
That is, gradually introducing sexual content as to normalise it. In
my case, in conjunction with subtly explicit conversation, I was
carefully exposed to material that glorified relationships between
characters with significant age differences. There was one film in
particular he made me watch, called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,
the last line of which, ‘Give me a girl at an impressible age, and
she is mine for life’.
“And
remember how I said Simon and Garfunkel was always playing? Their
music was the soundtrack to The Graduate. He made me watch that too.
It was, both literally and figuratively, The Sound of Silence. You
know the lyrics. The vision that was planted in my brain, still
remains, within The Sound of Silence. Number six, maintaining
control. That is, striking a perfect balance between causing pain and
providing relief from that pain. To condition the target to feel
guilt at the thought of exposing a person that also appears to care
for them. Abusers scare you into silent submission. At over six foot,
he towered above me. He once told me a story about a friend of his
who sought revenge on a woman by digging her eyes out with a spoon.
He told me he killed people as a soldier. He’d also sit outside on
my street at night in his car, to watch me undress through the
window. I was already embarrassed by my shape as a young teenager in
eating disorder recovery. I remember standing naked behind his desk
after he had just raped me, and asking him if he thought I was fat.
He looked me up and down and said, ‘You could do with some more
exercise’. Like I was a dog. But he also told me I was beautiful.
See, how it is all stiflingly, painfully complex?
“But
as we talk more about child sexual abuse, our lived experiences and
what we know, our understanding of this premeditated evil will
continue to develop. We need to warn our children, age appropriately,
of the signs and characteristic behaviours, while educating how to
report it, should it happen to them, or to those around them. This is
a serious enough topic, unfortunately too common in occurrence for us
to hope that kids know this. So I challenge our education system to
look for ways to more formally educate our children. Because we know
that education is our primary means of prevention.
“And
finally, to my third point, we need structural change. A national
system that supports and protects survivors and deals with crimes in
proportion to their severity. Let’s start by considering the
implications of linguistics related to offences. Through Let Her
Speak campaign efforts, we saw the wording of my abuser’s charge
officially changed from maintaining a sexual relationship to a person
under 17, to the persistent sexual abuse of a child. Think about the
difference in the crime according to the language of both of these.
Think about the message it sends to the community. Think about the
message it sends survivors. Where empathy is placed, where blame is
placed, and how punishment is then given. We need to protect our
children not just from the physical, mental, and emotional pain of
these hideous crimes, but from the long lasting sometimes lifelong
trauma that accompanies it. Whilst national structural change is no
small feat, nor is educating our children on the dangers and the
complexities of grooming, it is work that needs to be done and we
need to start somewhere.
“Let’s
start by reviewing our linguistics and agreeing between ourselves. We
have eight different state and territory jurisdictions and eight
different definitions of consent. We need to agree on something as
absolute as what consent is. We need a uniform, state and federal,
national standard definition of consent. Only then can we effectively
teach this fundamentally important principle consistently around
Australia.
“Since
I was announced as Australian of the Year just over a month ago,
hundreds of fellow child sexual abuse survivors have reached out to
me to tell their stories. To cry with me. Stories they thought they
would take with them to the grave, out of shame for being subjected
to something that was not their fault. Stories of a kind of suffering
they had previously never been able to explain. Stories of grooming.
I am one of the luckiest ones. Who survived, who was believed, who
was surrounded by love.
“And
what this shows me is that despite this problem still existing, and
despite a personal history of trauma that is still ongoing, it is
possible to heal, to thrive, and live a wonderful life. It is my
mission and my duty as a survivor and as a survivor with a voice to
continue working towards eradicating child sexual abuse. I won’t
stop until it does.
“And
so, I leave you with these three messages – number one, to our
government – our decision-makers, and our policymakers – we need
reform on a national scale. Both in policy and education. To address
these heinous crimes so they are no longer enabled to be perpetrated.
Number two, to my nation, the wonderful people of Australia – we
need to be open, to embrace the conversation, new information, and
take guidance from our experiences so we can inform change. So we can
heal and prevent this happening to future generations.
“Number
three, and finally, to my fellow survivors – it is our time. We
need to take this opportunity. We need to be bold and courageous.
Recognise that we have a platform on which I stand with you in
solidarity and support. Share your truth. It is your power. One
voice, your voice, and our collective voices can make a difference.
We are on the precipice of a revolution whose call to action needs to
be heard loud and clear. That’s right. You got it. Let’s keep
making noise, Australia.”
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
[Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourismbusiness development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements.The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
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