Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the middle of March this year, I was invited to attend a ‘fundraiser with a difference’—no political bias here—in support of children who have suffered abuse. It was held at the Kembla Grange Racecourse near Wollongong. Naturally, there were horses, a great lunch and the usual raffles. The people invited were all from the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven. I was proud to note that the Shoalhaven participants outnumbered the Illawarra participants significantly.

It was there that we were introduced to an organisation by the name of Bravehearts through the showing of a heart-wrenching DVD. This DVD outlined the incidence of child sexual abuse and the possible life changes that take place for many of the victims. Victims of child abuse are often suicide victims in their later years. They suffer family breakdowns, mental illness and some even end up in jail. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, it is estimated that one in three girls and one in six boys are sexually assaulted before they reach legal adulthood at 18 years of age. Many carry those scars into later life and some never get over the experience. Others are so affected they actually go on and become perpetrators of abuse themselves.

I came across the following words that encapsulate the undercurrent of Bravehearts:

I am a small child and I have the innocence of my future that rolls out before me.

It doesn’t matter whether I am male or female, rich or poor, black or white, migrant or Australian; but there is a strong chance that I may have my innocence stolen from me.

I will feel guilty and perhaps decide that suicide is my only solution.

I may grow in the troubled belief that there is no difference between right or wrong.

Or I may lose my way and steal the innocence from my own children.

These are strong sentiments indeed. There is obviously a high social cost to the community in addition to the emotional cost to all involved. It affects not only the families, relatives and friends but also police, social workers, courts, DOCS and even casual bystanders.

Bravehearts was created as a response to the pattern of child abuse confronted in society every day. It was a creature of Mrs Hetty Johnson, who established the organisation in 1997, and I commend her highly for her courageous initiative. Bravehearts is all about helping children tell trusted adults if they are feeling compromised or abused. It is a process of information and empowerment.

There is a character that accompanies the education and counselling team called ‘Ditto’, a brave cuddly lion helping children disclose, if that is required. The aim is to help all children in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven but there is of course a cost to this approach. There is always a cost, monetary or otherwise. The estimated budget is $250,000 and this will help to educate children and reduce the incidence of child abuse. It will help fund counsellors who help those already suffering the effects of being abused.

Already a local business has donated a vehicle to help take Ditto and the team around the area to visit schools and other groups who may support the work of Bravehearts. Spreading the message is the crux of the approach. On 9 April a small group of about 20 individuals gathered at the Bomaderry Bowling Club to form a steering fundraising committee for our local Bravehearts work. This group will be functioning under the stewardship of Roger and Wendy Woodward and Chris Benning, who is recently retired from the National Australia Bank. Frenchie, our local newsreader from 2ST in Nowra, has pledged his support and a number of others already working in the area of helping victims have also joined the team.

We have a dedicated and focused executive for our local Bravehearts and I encourage as many as possible to contact them, even if it is only to give contact details for their email list in case something special comes along that interested persons would like to attend. My contribution will be to sell DVDs to other members of parliament so that they too can get fully behind the Bravehearts initiative. In this way, we can all learn from the experience and help build a more appropriate response to a social and moral curse from the dark side of humanity.

I think it is beholden on us all to contribute as a society to strategies that discourage the perpetuation of child abuse, even in the smallest of ways. By turning a blind eye, we are inadvertently giving our tacit approval to this practice. I commend all those involved in Bravehearts. It is my hope that their example will motivate the creation of chapters in other regions. If my colleagues are interested, I would be more than happy to provide all necessary details about Bravehearts.