Victorian Ombudsman report calls for more emphasis on a “no wrong door” approach for allegations of child abuse. Given what Victorian Ombudsman Marlo Baragwanath’s report - Support when children are sexually abused at school: The Department of Education's response to abuse in a Victorian primary school - aligns with our petition's call for a "no wrong door approach", we sent the following to the Victorian Minister for Health and the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence.
"Dear Minister for Health and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence,
For just over three years now, the Beaumaris And Surrounding Communities - CSA Survivors And Families group has been calling on the Victorian government to pilot in full, Recommendation 9.1 of the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Funding a person-centred approach to survivors, their families and communities, that requires knocking on just one door. Designed around the holistic needs of individuals and families, that provides victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse with "no wrong door."
The outcomes the Beaumaris community petition seek, remain unchanged.
We are inviting The Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas MP, the Victorian Minister for Health, to meet with the petition organisers, to discuss what a meaningful, restorative investment in the lives of survivors, families, partners and the communities impacted, can look like. Including funding the facilitation of the co-design of responses, with those impacted.
Our vision includes piloting frameworks of accessible and integrated service systems that are already working well elsewhere in Australia, and in the world, in a couple of Victorian communities devastated by historic, systemic institutional child sexual abuse. The Ballarat community, and the Bayside communities of Melbourne.
We are also asking The Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas to work with the relevant decision makers within Victorian State and Federal Government, to ask that they collectively fund a person-centred approach to survivors, their families and communities, that requires knocking on just one door. Designed around the holistic needs of individuals and families, that provides victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse with "no wrong door."
Our petition seeks to increase the opportunities for disclosure of child sexual abuse, that result in the diagnosis and treatment of complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), needed for healing and recovery. Healing and recovery requires a diagnosis and treatment of complex PTSD AND services and treatment for the problems and symptoms caused by complex PTSD,
What this translates to is whatever service (health, social, welfare, employment, financial, justice and community) 'door' survivors and their families enter, is a safe place for disclosure of childhood sexual abuse, that enables access to all the services that meet their individual needs. And a case manager coordinates seamless care across multiple service providers (health, social, welfare, employment, financial, justice and community). Person-centred care also recognises that individuals are the experts of their own lived experiences and needs, and survivors and their families must be engaged in making informed decisions and choices about their care.
It also ensures each service an individual accesses delivers a trauma-informed approach that is nuanced and tailored to the their experiences. Vital to decrease the risks of individuals being re-traumatised by any service, whether it is related to substance abuse, depression, anxiety, physical ill-health, unemployment, homelessness, welfare, legal and financial services.
The current complex and disconnected systems of assistance, services and support too often requires the harmful retelling of their childhood sexual abuse trauma stories with multiple service providers.
The delay in implementation of a 'no wrong door' integration of health, social, welfare, employment, financial, justice and community systems, has undoubtedly cost lives of Victorian survivors through suicide and early deaths, that could have been saved. The delay has also extended levels of illness, disadvantage, disconnection and suffering for Victorian survivors, families, and communities, (social, emotional, mental, physical, financial, legal) that could have been reduced.
Today we note the following from Victorian Ombudsman Marlo Baragwanath’s report Support when children are sexually abused at school: The Department of Education's response to abuse in a Victorian primary school:
- “more emphasis on a “no wrong door” approach for allegations of child abuse” was one of four recommendations in Victorian Ombudsman Marlo Baragwanath’s report Support when children are sexually abused at school: The Department of Education's response to abuse in a Victorian primary school was tabled in Parliament today.
The Ombudsman’s investigation was sparked by concern about the way the Department of Education responded to two incidents of child sexual abuse at a Victorian primary school. - The investigation identified systemic gaps in the department’s policies, procedures and practices in managing child sexual abuse and found significant flaws in the department’s response including a failure to quickly contact the families concerned, apologise and adequately support the children and their families.
- Ms Baragwanath said the community expects that schools and other public bodies will be at their best when ensuring the safety of children in their care.
“Our investigation found that the department provided inaccurate advice to the school to help it respond effectively and failed to support the children and their families when they most needed help,” she said. - Ms Baragwanath said the impacts of sexual abuse are serious and long-lasting, and acknowledged the courage of the children and families who participated in this investigation.
- “I hope that, in some small way, our report helps the children, and their families recover from the trauma of these incidents and that our recommended reforms ensure no other child or family has to go through what these families experienced,” she said.
The report makes four recommendations to close the systemic gaps identified including:
- better support for child victim-survivors, their families, principals and other affected parties
- more emphasis on a “no wrong door” approach for allegations of child abuse
- greater transparency about sexual misconduct in schools
- better internal coordination within the department.”
The Deputy Secretary, Family Safety Victoria recently responded to our petition. A department that clearly doesn’t have sole responsibility for the implementation of recommendation 9.1 of the Royal Commission. Nor does Sexual Assault Services Victoria as suggested, whom we are grateful to for their support and continued advocacy for what our petition seeks.
The Beaumaris community is also profoundly grateful to the three independent politicians who have advocated on our behalf, currently Zoe Daniel MP (Federal) and Rachel Payne MP (Victorian).
But what the Beaumaris community is seeking is a long awaited response from the office of the Minister for Health to our petition, and meeting with her, thank you."
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We are thankful another independent voice has been added to those adocating for what our petition seeks.
Thank you to all our supporters too!