Background
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, allegations were made of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia and in a number of other religious and non-religious institutions. Some of these allegations led to convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into acts committed by Catholic priests and members ofHunter Special Commission of Inquiry
In July 2012, John Pirona, a victim of notorious priest Father John Denham, took his own life. Pirona left a note that said "Too Much Pain". The prime minister, Julia Gillard, visited Newcastle on 8 August 2012, the day of Pirona's funeral, where mourners backed '' The Newcastle Herald's'' "Shine the Light" campaign for a royal commission. Journalist Joanne McCarthy's report on Pirona's death and clergy abuse in the Maitland–Newcastle diocese was the catalyst for the "Shine the Light" campaign that would ultimately lead to the royal commission. In November 2012, Peter Fox, a senior detective in the NSW Police, revealed that he was stood down from investigating child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy while he was compiling "explosive" evidence from a key witness and that "the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church". Fox went public with his allegations in November 2012, when he spoke about the "evil of paedophilia within the Catholic Church". On 9 November 2012, theTerms of reference
On 11 January 2013, Governor-General Quentin Bryce issued Commonwealth letters patent appointing six commissioners and the commission's terms of reference. The commissioners were directed "to inquire into institutional responses to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse and related matters". Each state was also requested to issue letters patent, or their equivalent instruments of appointment, which allow the six commissioners to conduct an inquiry into institutional responses to child sexual abuse under their respective laws. The commissioners were formally appointed under Western Australian law on 22 January 2013, Queensland law on 24 January 2013, New South Wales law on 25 January 2013, Victorian law on 12 February 2013, Tasmanian law on 4 March 2013 and South Australian law on 7 March 2013. Despite both the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory having their own governments, they are officially administered under the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth letters patent covered their jurisdiction.Commissioners and executive
Gillard announced the setting up of the royal commission and the appointment of six commissioners with Peter McClellan as its head. The six commissioners were: * Bob Atkinson, a former Police Commissioner of Queensland who oversaw police reforms following the Fitzgerald Inquiry * Jennifer Coate, an appointee to the Family Court of Australia, a judge of the County Court of Victoria, and a former president of Children's Court of Victoria *Robert Fitzgerald, a commissioner on the Productivity Commission, convenor to the Indigenous Disadvantage Working Group and a former commissioner on the NSW Community and Disability Services * Peter McClellan, a Supreme Court of New South Wales judge, a former chair of the Sydney Water Inquiry, and a former assistant commissioner at the Independent Commission Against Corruption * Helen Milroy, a consultant psychiatrist with the WA Department of Health specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, and director of the Western Australian Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health * Andrew Murray, a former senator from Western Australia and advocate on issues surrounding institutionalised children The setting up of the royal commission was established by Julia Gillard, supported by the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, and by the Greens, as were the terms of reference and the choice of commissioners. The inaugural chief executive officer was Janette Dines, who served from January 2013 until June 2014.Powers
The powers of royal commissions in Australia are set out in the enabling legislation, the . The ''Royal Commissions Amendment Act 2013'' was approved by Parliament to give the Child Abuse Royal Commission additional powers to fulfil its terms of reference. Notable changes were: # Enabling the chair to authorise one or more members to hold a public or private hearing # Authorise members of the royal commission to hold private sessions Royal commissions, appointed pursuant to the ''Royal Commissions Act'' or otherwise, have powers to issue a summons to a person to appear before the commission at a hearing to give evidence or to produce documents specified in the summons; require witnesses to take an oath or give an affirmation; and require a person to deliver documents to the commission at a specified place and time. A person served with a summons or a notice to produce documents must comply with that requirement, or face prosecution for an offence. The penalty for conviction upon such an offence is a fine of or six months imprisonment. A royal commission may authorise the Australian Federal Police to execute search warrants.Submissions
The commissioners invited members of the public to make submissions, either orally over the telephone, in writing, or via face-to-face meetings with a commission officer. To help people planning to give evidence, in July 2013 the attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, announced provision of a free national legal service, independent of the royal commission, by the National Association of Community Legal Centres. Witnesses were offered the opportunity to tell their story to the Royal Commission via either public hearings or in private. The commissioners identified a number of themes and invited members of the public, organisations and institutions to make submissions on each of the following issues. there were no issues papers open for submission. The number of public submissions is listed: Submissions were made by organisations including the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Anglican Church, Anglicare, Barnardos Australia, Bravehearts, Broken Rites, CREATE Foundation, the Law Council of Australia, the Lutheran Church, MacKillop Family Services, Mission Australia, the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, SNAP Australia ( Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), the Roman Catholic Church in Australia, Save the Children Australia, Scouts Australia, The Smith Family, the St Vincent de Paul Society, Surf Life Saving Australia, the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints), the Salvation Army, the Uniting Church and YMCA Australia. In addition there were submissions from survivors groups (such as Ballarat survivors group) and representatives of victims and survivors. The Australian Government and the governments of the ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia made submissions. The list of government agencies which made submissions is extensive and includes the ACT Children & Young People Commissioner, the Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Senate, the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian (Queensland), the Commissioner for Children and Young People WA, the Commissioner for Victim's Rights SA, Legal Aid NSW, the Legal Services Commission of South Australia, the NSW Children's Guardian, the NSW Ombudsman, Queensland State Archives, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, the Victorian Commissioner for Children and Young People, and Victoria Legal Aid. Many individuals made submissions, including David Hill and John Menadue. Through the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the Catholic Church established a national co-ordinating body, called the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, to oversee the church's engagement with the royal commission and the pastoral and other ramifications that arose from the sexual abuse scandal. The council was chaired byPublic hearings
Hearings were conducted in every capital city and a number of regional centres across Australia. Because the Royal Commission felt it did not have the resources to investigate all of the thousands of allegations of abuse it was receiving, hearings were held with a focus on case studies of particular institutions. The Royal Commission's web site has an up-to-date list of case studies (49 ).Scouts Australia
In the Hunter region of New South Wales, it was alleged that a former member of Scouts Australia, suspended from the organisation for abusing two Scouts in the 1990s, was employed as the chief executive officer of an Aboriginal child welfare agency two months prior to the formal introduction of working-with-children checks. In testimony before the commission in September 2013, it was revealed that the applicant's suitability for the role may have been assessed by relatively junior staff; and that he later falsified his working-with-children check. It was alleged that the NSW Department of Community Services (DOCS) gave the man permission to have a 17-year-old boy, whom he was grooming for sex, live with him. A former CEO of Scouts Australia testified that during his three years in the job, he dealt with ten allegations of child sexual abuse. He admitted a number of children were sexually abused or harmed and said the Scouts failed them. The commission heard testimony from two victims who spoke of the profound effect the sexual abuse had on their lives. The first published case study of the royal commission dealt with the response of institutions to the conduct of Steven Larkins, who occupied positions of responsibility in Scouts Australia NSW and in the Hunter Aboriginal Children's Service. Larkins was prosecuted in 2012 for offences he had committed 15 years earlier, and was convicted and imprisoned.YMCA NSW
Between October 2013 and January 2014, the commission heard evidence that there were systemic failures by management within YMCA NSW after a worker was hired to work at a YMCA child care centre located in in southern Sydney without the appropriate background checks. The former worker, Jonathan Luke Lord, has since been convicted of offences relating to the abuse of twelve boys in his care, some as young as six. On 18 January 2013, Lord was sentenced to 10 years and a non-parole period of 6 years. He was sentenced for 13 offences involving 12 children and another 16 offences were taken into account. Following evidence presented before the commission, the NSW Department of Education and Communities wrote to the Chief Executive Officer of YMCA NSW and issued a compliance notice that set out strict conditions for continuation of the YMCA's childcare licence. The Chief Executive Officer of YMCA NSW testified before the commission about the impact of crimes that occurred on YMCA NSW premises.''Towards Healing''
Case Studies 4, 8, and 31 inquired into the Catholic Church's ''Towards Healing'' program and the Church's responses. Hearing 8 also focused on Ellis' experience in civil litigation. The program received criticism from at least one abuse victim who claimed it delayed reporting her complaint.Salvation Army
In January 2014 the commission began investigating allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children at four boys' homes run by the Salvation Army. The homes examined by the commission were the Boys Home in Sydney, the Gill Memorial Home at in southern New South Wales, the Alkira Salvation Army Home for Boys at in Brisbane and the Riverview Training Farm at in Queensland. The commission heard testimony from two Salvation Army whistleblowers about allegations of child abuse between 1973 and 1975. The officers testified that they witnessed a boy had his arm dislocated during a beating by another Salvation Army officer. The Salvation Army banned the husband and wife whistleblowers from talking to other alleged victims of child abuse and dismissed them from their position as "house parents" at the Alkira home. When the whistleblowers complained to the Queensland Department of Children's Services, they were labelled troublemakers. The officer at the centre of the allegations had previously worked at the Bexley home from 1968; and then was the manager of the Alkira home between 1974 and 1976. The Salvation Army moved the alleged perpetrator to another Salvation Army service where he was promoted in rank. Following the allegations raised at the royal commission, the Salvation Army suspended the officer at the centre of the allegations. The officer concerned did not attended the commission's hearings but the inquiry has been told he refutes the allegations of sexual abuse. The inquiry heard that officers were moved interstate if they were accused of child sexual abuse. One officer was dismissed from the Salvation Army in 2005 due to allegations of child sexual abuse. The whistleblowers testified that boys at the home were used for alleged sexual exploitation and were allegedly subject to physical abuse. Witnesses who testified included alleged victims of child abuse. A male witness told the royal commission that while at the Gill Memorial Home at Goulburn, aged 12 years, he was regularly sexually abused by a Salvation Army officer.Mangrove Yoga Ashram
In December 2014, the Commission hearing examined allegations into the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales of child sexual abuse by the ashram's former spiritual leader Swami Akhandananda Saraswati in the 1970s and 1980s. It found that Akhandananda, who was director of the ashram, had sexually abused children in his care, eleven of whom served as witnesses to the Royal Commission. In 1989 Akhandananda was sentenced to two years and four months of imprisonment; his conviction was overturned in 1991. The Ashram issued an acknowledgement and apology to the survivors of Akhandananda's sexual abuse. The apology and acknowledgement stated that the ashram accepted that the child sexual abuse did occur, and that the organisation had not responded in a way that was helpful to victims.Yeshiva, Melbourne and Yeshiva, Bondi
Testimony by victims of sexual abuse at two Chabad schools, Yeshiva in Melbourne and Yeshiva in Bondi, and school officials was given at the Commission. Witnesses included Manny Waks and his father. Several Chabad rabbis were found to have been publicly sermonizing that it was religiously forbidden to report child sex abuse to the police. The prohibition against reporting a fellow Jew to the authorities is referred to as '' Mesirah'' As of 1 September 2015, four Chabad Rabbis had resigned in relation to the controversy. As a consequence of the revelations, one Chabad institution's Committee of Management was to be replaced and to have its Board of Trustees disbanded. Witnesses noted that not only were victims of abuse not protected, but those who reported abuse to the rabbis were shunned as "''moser''s" who commit "''mesirah''". The schools were accused of covering up multiple claims of sexual abuse at their institutions in the 1980s and 1990s, and of retaliating against whistleblowers and victims. Rabbi Moshe Gutnick was called to testify. He said, "I believe the cover-ups and bullying and intimidation that has gone on ... represents the antithesis of the teachings of Chabad and Judaism and orthodoxy." He acknowledged that the Orthodox Chabad community in Australia was guilty of covering up sex crimes committed in the community, and pressuring victims and their families not to report the crimes to the police. Gutnick said that people reporting abuse were ostracized ''moser''s ("informers"). He said "a culture of cover-up, often couched in religious terms, pervaded our thinking and our actions." He said that rabbis in these situations had misused their power, and that anyone who insists a child sexual abuse victim should go first to a rabbi rather than the police is not doing so out of religious reasons but trying to "hush it up, to cover it up, to prevent the victim from finding redress. There is no doubt at all: '' Mesirah'' informing'has no application whatsoever to instances of child sexual abuse. To use ''mesirah'' in this way is an abomination." Gutnick also lamented that there was no formal training for rabbis on how to handle reported abuse. Manny Waks, an advocate for victims, said, "Today, Rabbi Moshe Gutnick restored my faith in ultra-Orthodox Judaism. For the first time ever the reform that is so critical seems much closer. Thank you Rabbi Gutnick. Hopefully the rest of the Orthodox Rabbinate will now follow suit. What an incredible day for justice."Knox Grammar School and the Uniting Church
On 23 February 2015 the commission started hearings concerning the response of Knox Grammar School and the Uniting Church in Australia to complaints and criminal proceedings involving teachers who sexually abused students. The Commission's remit includes inquiring into the 'systems, policies and procedures' involving the school's response to the complaints since 1970, and the experiences of former students sexually abused by teaching staff. Four teachers from Knox had been convicted of sexual offences against Knox students. A former Knox teacher, a resident master at the schools boarding house in 1988, was summonsed to appear at the Commission, but failed to do so. A warrant was issued by the Commission for his arrest. During hearings in early March 2015, several former Knox students and staff alleged that headmaster Ian Paterson did not refer several allegations of sex abuse he received to the police, despite there being a requirement for such allegations to be reported from 1988. The commission heard that in fact Paterson had never reported any student's allegation of sexual abuse to police during his thirty years in charge of the school. Paterson also stated that he had allowed several teachers accused of sexual abuse to resign and subsequently gave them positive references. Paterson denied that he had covered up the sexual abuse of students, arguing that he had responded to the allegations brought to his attention, and stated that "I should have known and I should have stopped the events that led to the abuse and its tragic consequences for these boys in my care and their families". Paterson stated that he was not aware that it was a crime for a teacher to grope or sexually proposition a student. Following the section of the hearing concerning Paterson, the current headmaster John Weeks stated that the school had changed considerably since the end of Paterson's period in the role and that Knox's Paterson Centre for Ethics and Business Studies would be renamed. Weeks also gave evidence to the Royal Commission. During this hearing he was questioned over why he had not sacked the teacher who was arrested in 2009 despite having received allegations in 2007 that the teacher had behaved improperly with a student during the 1980s. Weeks told the media that the allegations had not been detailed or specific, and he had received advice that "it would have been difficult on industrial grounds" to have dismissed the teacher. Weeks also stated that he had reported the teacher to the police child protection unit, but the relevant police inspector gave evidence that a report had not been made.Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat
The Royal Commission's final report of Catholic Church authorities inThis case study exposed a catastrophic failure in the leadership of the Diocese and ultimately in the structure and culture of the Church over decades to effectively respond to the sexual abuse of children by its priests. That failure led to the suffering and often irreparable harm to children, their families and the wider community. That harm could have been avoided if the Church had acted in the interests of children rather than in its own interests.
Euphemistic and elliptical language was often used in correspondence and minutes to mask the true nature of the conduct discussed. There was repeated reference to 'pressures', 'strains' and unspecified 'problems'. On occasions, records were deliberately not made or kept or were destroyed.
The result of these inexcusable failures was that more children were sexually abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese. There was a catastrophic institutional failure which resulted in many children being sexually abused. We heard about the devastating, often lifelong, consequences in the lives of those children. The welfare of children was not the primary concern of Bishop Mulkearns and other senior members of the Diocese when responding to complaints and allegation of child sexual abuse against their priests. There is no doubt it should have been.The report on Ballarat also described the impact it had on victims. One section outlines suicide and premature death caused from the abuse. One victim said:
Newspapers don't report suicides, so the public doesn't hear about the broken families and their shared lives, about the unseen impact of institutional child sexual abuse. Children are left behind and they don't understand why. It doesn't end when the abuse ends.Other harms are outlined. Another victim outlines the general harm in the Ballarat community:
Such chronic sexual abuse in the Ballarat community has led to a large number of men who are not able to be productive members of society and intellects have become either emotional, social or financial burdens upon the community.Evidence at the Royal Commission revealed "the extensive effects (of sexual abuse) on every aspect of a child's development. Their capacity to form relationships, their ability to function at school, their ability to progress in education and their ability to progress in employment are all affected".Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Case Study 28, Findings Report, p.422 https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/case_study_28_-_findings_report_-_catholic_church_authorities_in_ballarat_catholic_church_authorities_in_ballarat2.pdf Professor Carolyn Quadrio, psychiatrist and expert witness described a variety of behaviours seen in children often associated with sexual abuse and how these are frequently misunderstood, where such behaviours are "easier to spot in little children, as older children are more likely to cover it up" as a form of shame and self-blame.Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Case Study 28, Findings Report, p.424
Often, the Christian Brother in question was allowed to remain in the position he held where the allegations arose, with continuing access to children.
On many occasions, the Brother was moved to a new location after a complaint or allegation was made about his conduct. In some cases, the reason given for the move was to conceal the true reason for it and to protect the reputation of the Christian Brothers and avoid scandal and embarrassment.During the Royal Commission it was found that 853 children, average age 13, had been sexually abused by one or more Christian Brothers. Child abuse complaints were made against 281 Christian Brothers, and the Congregation had paid A$37.3 million in compensation. During the Ballarat Case Study of the Royal Commission it was found that Glynis McNeight, a private investigator, was paid for by the Christian Brothers, through a retained law firm, pursued victims and their families who were sexually abused by Brother Edward Dowlan. McNeight's report was tabled which contained a strategy to manipulate witnesses such as a victim could be "easily be torn down in the witness box" and "The person himself is a very nervous, excitable type who will reduce to tears and bad language easily". It was also shown that the Christian Brothers knew of abuse from Brothers but did not tell police and spent almost $1.5 million defending paedophile Brother Robert Best, Edward Dowlan and Stephen Farrell.
Jehovah's Witnesses
In July and August 2015, the royal commission examined the handling of child sexual abuse cases by Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia. Their "case studies showed that it was a common practice of religious institutions to adopt 'in-house' responses when dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse." The court questioned Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the Governing Body. The hearing was told that in response to a summons issued by the commission, the Watch Tower Society had produced 5,000 documents relating to 1,006 case files of allegations of child sexual abuse reported to Jehovah's Witness elders in Australia since 1950—each file for a different alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse, including 579 cases in which the perpetrator confessed. The "case study regarding the Jehovah's Witnesses showed that the organisation dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse in accordance with internal, scripturally based disciplinary policies and procedures." The documents showed that of the alleged perpetrators, "not one was reported by the Church to secular authorities". The commission was told: "This suggests that it is the practice of the Jehovah's Witness Church to retain information regarding child sexual abuse offences but not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other relevant authorities." Officers of the royal commission "referred information in relation to 514 alleged perpetrators to police", adding that "of the remaining 492 alleged perpetrators identified in the case files, officers at the Royal Commission determined that there was either insufficient evidence in the case files to warrant referring matters to police or that the matters had already come to the attention of police". The royal commission found that it " idnot consider the Jehovah's Witness organisation to be an organisation which responds adequately to child sexual abuse. ... The organisation's retention and continued application of policies such as the two-witness rule in cases of child sexual abuse shows a serious lack of understanding of the nature of child sexual abuse." In its final report, the royal commission added, "As long as the Jehovah's Witness organisation continues to ... ely on a literal interpretation of the Bible and 1st century principles to set practice, policy and procedure... in its response to allegations of child sexual abuse, it will remain an organisation that does not respond adequately to child sexual abuse and that fails to protect children."Geelong Grammar School
In September and October 2015, the Royal Commission held a public hearing into sexual abuse at the Geelong Grammar School, an elite Anglican boarding school for boys which had once counted the then Prince Charles among its students. In 2015-2016 the Royal Commission then investigated the allegations brought forth at the hearings, and handed down a report published in February 2017, which is available on the internet. The report details many incidents of abuse by the school staff between 1956 and 1989, including three Anglican priests, three boarding house masters, and a live-in boarding house assistant. (p. 20-30) One can sense from the testimony of former students that Geelong was a "strict, authoritarian and regimented place" (p. 21), where sexual abuse was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what would lead an adolescent boy to despair. One complainant said he witnessed "repeated physical and psychological abuse" in addition to sexual abuse, and that there was a "code of silence" about this at the school; all of this left him with a sense of "shame, helplessness and powerlessness". (p. 29) Three of the sexual abuse cases led in the victims to later struggles with depression, suicidal thoughts, and attempted suicide. (p. 26, 28, 31) Five former staff members of the school were convicted of child sex offences. (p. 31-32)Australian Defence Force
The Commission held a public hearing to inquire into the experiences of men and women who were sexually abused as children in certain divisions of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It also examined the systems, policies, practices and procedures of the ADF and the ADF Cadets to prevent child sexual abuse, and raising and responding to concerns and complaints about child sexual abuse. On 22 August 2017 the Commission released reports into abuse within the ADF, and found that at HMAS ''Leeuwin'' the physical and sexual abuse of child recruits was widespread, with " bastardisation" practices that involved a junior recruit being held down while boot polish, toothpaste or another substance was forcibly smeared on his genitals or anal area also took place at ''Leeuwin''. At The Army Apprentice School, Balcombe on the Mornington Peninsula, teenage apprentices were severely sexually abused during the 1970s and 1980s. The abuse included fondling of genitals, forced masturbation, anal penetration with an object such as a broomstick and "bastardisation" practices primarily perpetrated by senior apprentices or staff. A 15-year old cadet within the Australian Air Force Cadets in Tasmania, committed suicide following the improper handling of an incident of an improper relationship that was instigated by a senior officer.Reports
The federal government requested an initial report from the commission not later than 30 June 2014 as well as a recommendation for the date for the final report not later than 31 December 2015. On 13 November 2014 Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove amended the letters patent extending the date for submission of the final report to "not later than 15 December 2017". An interim report was released on 30 June 2014 and included "the personal stories of 150 people who shared their experience of abuse by coming to a private session or providing a written account." ( PDF versionsOutcomes
On 22 October 2018, the Prime Minister of Australia,Supreme Court's "Institutional Liability List"
On 8 May 2020, the Victorian Supreme Court established an Institutional Liability List to administer child sex abuse lawsuits. The list includes claims for damages arising from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission's allegations against George Pell and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat played a role in the creation of the list.See also
* Children in State Care Commission of Inquiry (the Mullighan Inquiry), a South Australian inquiry that took place from 2004 to 2008References
Further reading
*External links