Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

22 October marked the fifth anniversary of the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. I wish to commemorate this anniversary and highlight the essence of the apology's message. To reiterate the words that victims and survivors, their loved ones and their families should have heard all along: we are sorry, we believe you and we will do better. In the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the apology acknowledged our country's history. It is a history of children being sexually abused by people and institutions that they should have been able to trust. The royal commission gave an opportunity for thousands of victims and survivors to be heard. For many, it was the first opportunity they had to speak about their ordeals. I commend the extraordinary people who shared their experiences and spoke of the abuse suffered at the hands of institutions and I commend the people who spoke when others could not. I'm very proud of the role that I played, as Attorney-General at the time, in the establishment of the royal commission and ensuring that people who engaged with the royal commission received the legal support that they needed.

Knowmore was launched in 2013 as a free legal advisory and support service to assist people to tell their story to the royal commission. The value of the service was acknowledged in the final report of the royal commission, where it recommended that knowmore should not only continue but expand its services. Knowmore now provides legal advice and support for all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Mr Warren Strange, who retired earlier this year after guiding knowmore from its inception and with unwavering commitment for more than a decade.

I'm honoured to stand here today and speak of the progress we are making to give effect to the royal commission's recommendations. The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has marked its fifth anniversary this year. The ACCCE has a vision to keep children free from exploitation and a mission to drive coordinated responses to counter online child exploitation. Demonstrating their success in this mission, over the past five years the Australian Federal Police have charged 877 alleged offenders with more than 7,000 child abuse offences. It's also the fifth year of operation for the National Office for Child Safety. Recommended by the royal commission, the national office is working across the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the community in a coordinated approach to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and to support and empower victims and survivors. The national office overseas the delivery of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030, which launched two years ago and responds to approximately 100 royal commission recommendations.

Following the national apology and the royal commission, significant progress has been made in addressing child sexual abuse, and this year has been no exception. I'd like to name a few achievements from this year. We have launched a national awareness raising and behavioural change campaign called One Talk at a Time. The campaign is aimed at helping adults understand that child sexual abuse is preventable and encouraging ongoing, proactive and preventative conversations. It's the first national campaign of its kind. I'm incredibly proud to be able to say that the campaign has reached over six million Australians since launching in October, sparking important conversations across the country. We have released guides for media reporting on child sexual abuse to promote reporting that raises community awareness of child sexual abuse, reduces stigma and empowers victims and survivors when they share their personal experiences with the media. We have launched minimum practice standards for specialist and community support services responding to child sexual abuse to promote safe and effective services that support individuals who've been impacted by child sexual abuse. And we have supported implementation of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, including delivering child safety risk management resources.

I acknowledge and thank all the individuals and organisations who are working so hard to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse. In particular, I thank the victims and survivors who have so generously shared their experiences. It's because of your bravery that meaningful change can be achieved. There is so much more work to do. The recently released Australian Child Maltreatment Study revealed that one in four Australians aged 16 and over have experienced child sexual abuse, underscoring the importance of the work under way to combat child sexual abuse. The fifth anniversary is a milestone in our journey to address child sexual abuse. We will continue upholding the royal commission's recommendations and striving to do better for all victims and survivors. To the community, I ask for your continued support. To victims and survivors, I say again: we are sorry, we believe you and we will do better.

Debate adjourned.

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