The Victorian Government recently announced a Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School (BPS), asking victim-survivors to “put their experiences on the public record” to achieve the following outcomes, which align with outcomes the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission), has already reported on and provided recommendations.

• "develop a shared understanding of the impact of that historical child sexual abuse on victim-survivors, secondary victims, affected communities, and society";
• "support the healing of the affected victim-survivors, secondary victims, and affected communities" 
• review "the response of the Department of Education in relation to the historical child sexual abuse" and 
• review "whether there are effective support services for victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse in government schools."

How many stories and retelling of stories are needed before the Victorian Government acts on knowledge it already has?

1. The reality for many survivors and families of victims of child sexual abuse at BPS, is their experiences have already been put on the public record, in de-identified statements and/or private sessions, with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
   
   
2. A small number of survivors and families of victims of child sexual abuse at BPS shared stories and statements at a meeting with the Victorian Premier on 6 February 2023, regarding a planned apology by the Premier to survivors of child sexual abuse in government organisations later this year.
   
   
3. The author of this update is now being asked - and is probably not alone in this experience -  to provide a statement and story about historic child sexual abuse at BPS for a third time to government, in the full knowledge the Victorian Government’s response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission is dismal. 

Recommendations of Royal Commissions and Board of Inquiries aren't binding

The Victorian government’s fifth and final Annual Report on its’ progress in implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission, reports on only 300 recommendations. Nowhere in this report does it mention those 17 recommendations it decided not to action, and why, or acknowledge how what has been implemented, deviates from what the Royal Commission recommended.

Last year we provided Stuart Grimley MP with evidence of how poorly the Victorian Government’s annual reporting compared to the other states and territories. Mr Grimley called this out in Parliament on 17 August 2022, asking for the Victorian Government to match the transparency of their progress on the implementation of Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommendations, with that of the recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.

This motion by Mr Grimley was ignored by the Victorian Government.

Effective support services and supports, for affected Beaumaris and surrounding victim-survivors, families, and communities is well known to the Victorian Govnerment

What is most insincere and galling, is the Victorian Premier and government is now asking the author of this update, and many others, to repeat what the Beaumaris And Surrounding Communities — CSA Survivors And Families group has already repeatedly shared with it, regarding “appropriate ways to support healing for affected victim-survivors, secondary victims (families) and affected communities.” 

In this - our petition - tabled in Victorian Parliament on 8 June 2022, which now has 13,173 signatures.

Our petition has been met with silence from the Victorian Government, not only when it was tabled, but by actively ignoring, and continuing to ignore, scores of email requests it has received since 1 February 2022. 

Emails requesting meetings with the petition organisers, survivors, family members, community members, supporters, peak bodies and service providers, to discuss piloting evidence-based, appropriate ways to support healing for affected victim-survivors, families and affected communities. 

Requesting the Victorian Government to implement Recommendation 9.1 of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, in full.

Harming social discourse, and harming survivors, families and communities

For the many survivors, families and communities who have already shared their stories, it is exhausting to have to keep doing so. Especially when governments continue to not act on so many of our stories and our needs.

For even more survivors, families and communities thinking about sharing their stories, seeing how slow governments are to act on the voices it has already heard, and/or ignoring those voices completely, must be discouraging.

If there was one issue you think would be bipartisan in politics, it is child sexual abuse. That politicians of every colour would support Australian governments investing heavily in the prevention of the maltreatment of children, and in the support of survivors, families and communities impacted by child maltreatment. Including the devastating individual, social and generational impacts of child sexual abuse.

Politicians routinely agree that defence of our national security is a bipartisan issue, why isn’t the protection of and support for our most vulnerable, our children, bipartisan too?

To witness the most reasonable of motions made in Victorian Parliament, and the evidence-based recommendations of the Royal Commission, including the one that our petition is calling to be implemented in full, being treated by the Victorian government as something to debate, contest or just plain ignore, has, and continues to, shock.

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We must be clear eyed about the extensive knowledge the Victorian Government already has on historic child sexual abuse, and its dismal record in taking appropriate action.

We will continue to raise our concerns with the Victorian Government, about its continuing failure to be transparent in its reporting of their progress on the implementation of Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommendations. 

We will continue to call for the Victorian Government to implement Recommendation 9.1 of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, in full, as our petition requests.

Thank you to all our Petitioners for standing with us.