Andrew Murray (WA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance and Administration in the Senate (Senator Minchin) to a question without notice asked by Senator Murray today relating to the sexual assault of children.

In opening my remarks, I take the opportunity to compliment Tony Jones on the quality of his journalistic efforts last night on the ABC Lateline program on the issues of the sexual assault of children and the failure of the authorities to act in response to reports—a failure which I note replicates the same failure to address the sexual assault of institutionalised children and children in care last century, as reported on by the Senate in three committee reports by the Senate Community Affairs References Committee.

I remind the chamber of a paper that I sent to every senator and member last September. I think it was 24 pages or so long. It covered the enduring legacy of growing up in care in 20th century Australia and the lessons that could be drawn from that. One of the key lessons is that, if a child is harmed, it will invariably result in a harmed adult, with consequent long-term and costly social and economic consequences. So if a child is harmed at the age of 10, you will find six decades of troubles as a result. I will quote a few things from the paper of mine which I sent out.

I remarked on the fact that the harming of children often results in relationship problems, consequent poor parenting skills when they become parents, drug and alcohol addictions, homelessness, unemployment, antisocial behaviours and criminal activity. Also common are ongoing health problems and mental health issues, including post traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicide. One strong conclusion drawn from the Senate inquiries is that assaults, abusive treatment and neglect of children, and the resulting disconnections, result in a lifetime of social and economic consequences. Not only does this impact on individual survivors but it can also affect multiple generations and society at large.

The potential scale is alarming, as are the associated economic costs. Although the direct and indirect costs have not been officially quantified, anecdotal evidence and disparate studies give some indication as to the enormity of the social and economic costs. For instance, involvement in welfare related fields was indicated by one care leaver. I quote:

Institutional abuse does not stop when we age out of the system. Once in contact with the juvenile justice system we have a 90 per cent chance of becoming adult criminals. We have a one in three chance of leaving care at 16 as girls pregnant or already with a child. We have a one in two chance of being homeless within that first year. Only one in 100 of us will get to university, but one in three of us will have attempted suicide. We are also highly likely to wind up addicted to drugs, engaged in prostitution, unemployed, mentally ill or incapable of sustaining loving relationships.

I further quote:

This anecdotal evidence is backed up by a number of relevant studies. For instance, one study found that 80 to 85 per cent of women in Australian prisons have been victims of incest of other forms of abuse.

Another study of 27 correctional centres in New South Wales found that 65 per cent of male and female prisoners were victims of child sexual and physical assault.

It has also been found that maltreated children are more likely to offend in adolescence than those children who are not.

This finding is further supported by a study of risk factors for the juvenile justice system which found that 91 per cent of the juveniles who had been subject to a care and protection order, as well as a supervised justice order, had progressed to the adult corrections system with 67 per cent having served at least one term of imprisonment.

To further illustrate the generational effects, another prison study found that 65 per cent of women in Victorian prisons were themselves housed in institutions as children. It also found that 70 per cent of these women were mothers who were largely sole parents and that the cycle was being perpetuated as many of their children had become state wards while their mothers were imprisoned.

The message I want to convey briefly is that the sexual assault of children is not only an issue of crime and punishment but it is also an issue of a lifetime sentence on children. We have to find some way of dealing with those who have been harmed. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.