Released 27/11/2018
Children have been better protected from abuse under new laws making it clear what an institution’s obligations and responsibilities are for care and wellbeing.
Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the Royal Commission Criminal Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 would build on reforms developed in response to recommendations by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
“Children are among our most vulnerable community members, and these reforms will reduce the risk of them being abused by the very people entrusted to protect them,” Minister Ramsay said.
“Abuse against children will not be tolerated within our community, and under these reforms, it will be an offence for people in positions of authority in institutions to move suspected perpetrators on to other positions within their organisation, and put further children at risk of child sexual abuse.
“People in an institution who are in a position to protect children from harm, will be held criminally responsible if they fail to act when they are aware of the risk that another person associated with the institution may sexually abuse children.
“Other changes made by the Bill will ensure perpetrators of child sexual abuse are held accountable for their actions.
“The ACT Government is committed to ensuring the Royal Commission’s recommendations for protecting children, are implemented as a matter of priority.”
When this legislation comes into effect it will:
- create a new offence that applies to people in authority in an institution who fail to protect against child sexual abuse
- create a procedural mechanism for charging offences as a ‘course of conduct’ for child sexual abuse
- ensure that sentences for child sexual abuse are aligned with current sentencing practice rather than the sentencing practice at the time of the offending
- include special principles that apply when dealing with child witnesses giving evidence, and
- extend special measures for vulnerable witnesses who give evidence in court to reduce, as far as possible, the trauma associated with giving evidence in sexual abuse and other matters.
- Statement ends -
Gordon Ramsay, MLA | Media Releases
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