Please be advised that this site contains material that some may find distressing or confronting

Content warning:

This page contains material that some may find distressing or confronting and contains descriptions of grooming and child sexual abuse.

Keeping the Fellowship Safe

No one word can define the experience of every person affected by child sexual abuse.

Some individuals who have experienced child sexual abuse may choose to identify as a victim, a survivor or a victim-survivor.

Some individuals may not identify with any of these terms. The best way to be respectful is to ask someone’s preference, bearing in mind that this can change over time.

Victim, Survivor and Victim-Survivor

The Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

In 2013, the Australian Government established a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) in response to community concern about widespread reports of cases where Australian institutions had failed to protect children from sexual abuse. The Commission’s final recommendations emphasised that members of the public, children and young people, parents, carers, families and communities should feel confident that organisations working with children are able to provide a safe environment in which children’s rights, needs and interests are met.

The National Child Safe Principles align with the Royal Commission and the work of the Australian and New Zealand Children's Commissioners and Guardians. They provide a national approach to embedding a child safe culture across all sectors of Australian society in which children are involved.

Underpinned by a child-rights approach, the National Child Safe Principles are designed to build capacity and deliver child safety and wellbeing in organisations, families and communities and prevent future harm.

In order to allow flexibility in implementation and in recognition of the variety of organisational types, sizes and capacities, the National Principles outline at a high level the 11 elements that are fundamental for making an organisation safe for children.

The National Principles collectively show that a Child Safe organisation is one that creates a culture, adopts strategies and takes action to promote child wellbeing and prevent harm to children and young people. A Child Safe organisation consciously and systematically creates an environment where children’s safety and wellbeing is the centre of thought, values and actions, places emphasis on genuine engagement with children and values the voices of children, creates conditions that reduce the likelihood of harm to children and young people and creates conditions that increase the likelihood of identifying any harm, responds to any concerns, disclosures, allegations or suspicions.

Child Safe Standards

Child Safe Standard 1 - Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

Child Safe Standard 2 - Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

Child Safe Standard 3 - Families and communities are informed, and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Child Safe Standard 4 - Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and Practice.

Child Safe Standard 5 - People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

Child Safe Standard 6 - Processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.

Child Safe Standard 7 - Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.

Child Safe Standard 8 - Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.

Child Safe Standard 9 - Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.

Child Safe Standard 10 - Policies and procedures document how the relevant entity is safe for children and young people.

Zero Tolerance

What does zero tolerance mean?

The Ministry has stated “we take a zero-tolerance stance on Child Sexual Abuse.”

Zero tolerance means that sexual abuse of children is never okay:

Zero tolerance of any kind of misconduct toward children.
Zero tolerance of any kind of exploitation of children.
Zero tolerance of any kind of sexual abuse or harassment of children.
Zero tolerance of failure to take appropriate action in response to knowledge of the above.
Zero tolerance of failure to take appropriate action regarding knowledge of risk.
Zero tolerance of minimising the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors
Zero tolerance of covering up child sexual abuse
Zero tolerance of retaliation against those who raise complaints or bear witness.
Aiming for zero incidents in the future.

A stance of zero tolerance is important because it:

Keeps children safe
Places focus on supporting victims, survivors and addressing safety
Restores confidence in the church
Addresses the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors
Increases transparency
Makes the fellowship a safe place for all.

Definition of Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse covers a broad range of sexual activities perpetrated against children.

All forms of child sexual abuse are a profound violation of the human rights of the child and a crime under law. The impacts of this crime are far-reaching for children, families, and communities as well as for spiritual growth and confidence in the fellowship.

Under Australian law, a child is anyone under the age of eighteen (18) years of age. A person is considered an adult at the age of 18.

There is no consideration of physical size or development
There is no discussion about emotional maturity

In New Zealand, a person is considered to be a minor in the eyes of the law until 20 years of age, however only those under 18 are subject to child protection legislation.

Sexual abuse can be physical, verbal or emotional in nature. It can include non-contact and contact activities and can involve a range of behaviours including but not limited to:

Forced or unwanted sex, both penetrative and non-penetrative.
Forcing a child to strip or masturbate.
Inappropriate touching of a child, whether clothed or unclothed.
Engaging in any kind of sexual activity in front of a child, including watching pornography.
Taking, downloading, viewing, or distributing sexual images of children.
Possessing images of child sexual abuse.
Encouraging a child to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam or any recording device.
Encouraging a child to perform any sexual act for the gratification of another.
Grooming a child (or their parent or carer).
Grooming a child (or their parent or carer) refers to the way some offenders form relationships and build trust with children, parents, carers, teachers, and other children in order to get close to a child and create the opportunity for sexual abuse. It can be difficult to identify because the behaviour itself may not be abusive or sexual. Grooming can often occur online.

Bravehearts (2022). What is Child Sexual Abuse?

https://bravehearts.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/BraveheartsInfoSheet_What-Is-Child-Sexual-Abuse.pdf

The World Health Organisation defines child abuse and neglect as:

All forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.

Types of Child Abuse:

physical abuse
emotional abuse
neglect
sexual abuse
exposure to family violence.

The World Health Organisation defines child sexual abuse as:

The involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared, or else that violates the laws or social taboos of society. Children can be sexually abused by both adults and other children who are – by virtue of their age or stage of development – in a position of responsibility, trust or power over the victim.

Definitions of child abuse and neglect can include adults, young people and older children as the perpetrators of the abuse. It is commonly stated in legislation that the term ‘child abuse and neglect’ refers to behaviours and treatment that result in the actual and/or likelihood of harm to the child or young person.

Statistics

More than 1 in 4 Australians (28.5%) have experienced child sexual abuse.

Reference: Haslam D, Mathews B, Pacella R, Scott JG, Finkelhor D, Higgins DJ, Meinck F, Erskine HE, Thomas HJ, Lawrence D, Malacova E. (2023). The prevalence and impact of child maltreatment in Australia: Findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study: Brief Report. Australian Child Maltreatment Study, Queensland University of Technology.

More than 1 in 3 Australian girls and almost 1 in 5 boys experience child sexual abuse.

Among Australian children who have been sexually abused, for more than three-quarters (78%), it happened more than once.

In up to 90% of child sexual abuse cases, the offender is known to the family.

Reference: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017; Quadara, Nagy, Higgins & Siegel, 2015.

In more than half of cases (approximately 52%), the onset of child sexual abuse is from 0 to 8 years.

Reference: McElvaney et al,. 2020.

1 in 8 children has sent a photo or video of themselves to someone they first met online.

Reference: Office of the eSafety Commissioner, 2022.

Approximately 1 in 3 cases of child sexual abuse are instigated by other young people.

Reference: Der Bedrosian, 2018; McKibbon, 2017; Finkelhor, Omrod & Chaffin, 2009

Grooming

In many cases of child sexual abuse, the abuse is preceded by sexual grooming. Grooming is a criminal offense in Australia and New Zealand and if convicted, offenders can face a jail term of up to seven years (New Zealand) or ten years (Australia).

Grooming is a process through which a perpetrator gradually gains the trust of a person, family, community or organisation with the intent of then perpetrating sexual abuse.

The Bravehearts website provides the following information about grooming:

Grooming may take a number of forms:

Building the child’s trust: Using presents, special attention, treats, spending time together and playing games with non-sexual physical contact.
Favouritism: The offender treats the child as an adult; treating them differently and making them feel like a unique friend, making the child feel more special than others.
Gaining the trust of the child’s parents or carer/s: Careful to be ‘seen’ as a close, caring and reliable relative or friend of the family.
Isolation (from family, friends): To ensure secrecy and lessen chances of disclosure or belief. Intimidation and secrecy: The offender may use coercion e.g., threatening looks and body language, glares, stalking and rules of secrecy.
‘Testing the waters’ or boundary violation: ‘Innocent’ touching, gradually developing into ‘accidental’ sexual contact.
Shaping the child’s perceptions: The child is often confused as to what is acceptable and can take on self-blame for the situation, as his/her viewpoint can become totally distorted.

Grooming may cause a child to:

Think as though they have an important and special relationship with the person who is harming them;
Experience confusion over the nature of their relationship; internalise the abuse as their fault, feeling responsibility for any harm experienced, fearing they will be blamed, punished, or not believed;
Fear that they will be separated from their family or home if they speak out; and/or believe that disclosure will cause harm to someone or something they love and care for, such as family members or pets.

Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse

The term 'perpetrator' refers to an adult who has committed a child sexual abuse-related offence. This includes offenders who have been convicted by a court.

Sometimes, the word "paedophilia" is used to refer to the sexual attraction of an adult to pre-pubescent children and the word "hebephilia" (sometimes "ephebophilia") is used to refer to the sexual attraction of an adult to an adolescent (ie. to someone between the stages of puberty and adulthood). Paedophilia, hebephilia and child sex offender/child sexual abuse perpetrator are not interchangeable terms. Not all child sex offenders are paedophiles and conversely, not all paedophiles are child sex offenders

(Who Perpetrates Child Sexual Abuse?, National Office for Child Safety, 2023).

There is no definitive profile of a perpetrator. People who commit sexual abuse against children are people in our community who we know and interact with in everyday life and can include:

Adult abusers with no familial relationship to the child
Adult abusers who are family members of the child
Adult abusers who are in a position of power or authority over the child
Sexual abuse that is perpetrated by children and young people
Sibling sexual abuse
Online child sexual abuse
Commercial child sexual exploitation.

Although the legal age of consent is 16 or 17 years of age throughout Australia and New Zealand, it is an offense in many states for a person in a supervisory role providing special care to have sexual interactions with a person aged 16 or 17. Examples of a person in a supervisory role providing special care include:

Spiritual leaders
Teachers
Medical practitioners

What Does the Research Tell Us About Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse?

The perpetrator is usually known to the survivor . A study of people who experienced sexual abuse before they were 15 years old found that 79% of individuals were abused by a relative, friend, acquaintance or neighbour (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019)
Perpetrators are generally men - reports to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that 93.9% of institutional child sexual abuse was perpetrated by an adult man.

Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse

Child Sexual Abuse is under-reported, under-prosecuted and under-convicted. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that survivors, on average, do not disclose the abuse until 23.9 years after the abuse has occurred.

National and international research consistently demonstrates that incidents of rape, sexual offences and child sexual abuse are significantly under-reported:

A study of Swiss adolescents found that less than 10% of victims reported their experience of child sexual abuse to police (Mohler-Kuo et al., 2014).
A study of sexual abuse and assault among a US nationally representative sample of over 13,000 youth found that among those aged 10-17 years who had been sexually abused or assaulted, 66.3% did not disclose to a parent or any other adult and only 19.1% of abuse and assaults were reported to the police (Gewirtz-Meydan & Finkelhor, 2019).

More than 140,000 sexual assaults (including assaults of adults and children) were reported to Australian police between 2007 and 2017.

Just under 42,600 or 30% of sexual assault reports led to an arrest, summons, formal caution or other legal action.
50,800 investigations (more than 35% of reported sexual assaults) remain unsolved (Ting, Scott & Palmer, 2020).

The consequences of child sexual abuse may be immediately apparent or may develop over time. The research on the longer-term impact of child sexual abuse indicates that there may be a range of negative consequences for mental health and adjustment in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics:

Persons who experienced childhood abuse were twice as likely to experience violence as an adult compared to those who did not experience abuse (71% compared to 33%);
Persons who experienced childhood abuse were three times more likely to experience partner violence as an adult than those who did not experience abuse (28% compared to 8.9%);
Persons who experienced childhood abuse were more likely to report having a psychological or physical disability at the time of interview, than those who did not experience childhood abuse; and
As adults, persons who experienced childhood abuse tended to have lower levels of educational attainment, income and life satisfaction, and were more likely to report financial stress and poor health.

A New Zealand birth-cohort study (Fergusson, McLeod & Horwood, 2013) found that sexual abuse before the age of 16 contributed to a range of adverse outcomes by age 30 including:

Depression and anxiety
PTSD symptoms
Reduced self-esteem and life satisfaction
Alcohol and drug dependence

Those who have experienced child sexual abuse are 18 times more likely to die by suicide than those in the general population (Cutajar, Mullen, Ogloff, Thomas, Wells, & Spataro, 2010).

Privacy, Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest

We are working to develop a Privacy and Confidentiality Statement for our fellowship. We are also working to develop a Conflict of Interest Policy.

Confidentiality is keeping information private or secret.

It means that information is not shared with anyone without the permission of the information giver.
It means not sharing any identifying information – name, location, family members name, etc.
It means not telling the detail of the story

Confidentiality is essential in cases of child sexual abuse because:

It protects all individuals involved
It makes sure that any information collected is not jeopardized and therefore not able to be used in any legal matters
It protects the rights of the child
It ensures the best possible outcome and care for the child and the family
Lack of confidentiality can put a child at greater risk.

It is important to protect the identity, as far as is possible, of all survivors of child sexual abuse who do not wish to be identified. Many states and territories have laws that prohibit publishing information that identifies survivors of child sexual abuse.

Maintaining privacy and confidentiality is critical in supporting survivors of child sexual abuse because:

It protects the survivor from further threats and/or abuse as a result of seeking assistance and disclosing the true nature of the abuse. These threats and/or abuse could come from the alleged perpetrator as well as other members of the survivor’s family, fellowship and/or ministry
Establishing processes that enable survivors to report abuse and seek support without publishing the survivor’s identity creates psychological safety and supports and encourages survivors to share their experiences.

It is important for faith-based bodies to have a Conflict-of-Interest policy. A conflict of interest occurs when a person’s personal interest conflicts with their responsibility to act in the best interest of the fellowship. Even if a conflict of interest is perceived instead of actual, the appearance of a conflict of interest can be enough to impair trust in the ministry. An unidentified or undisclosed conflict of interest can pose threats to ministry members maintaining their legal obligations as well as their biblical duty of stewardship.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2019, May 6). Characteristics and outcomes of childhood abuse.

(https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/characteristics-and-outcomes-childhood-abuse)

Australian Government. https://aifs.gov.au/resources/policy-and-practice-papers/what-child-abuse-and-neglect

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018, September). What is child abuse and neglect? Australian Institute of Family Studies; Australian Government.

https://aifs.gov.au/resources/policy-and-practice-papers/what-child-abuse-and-neglect

Bravehearts. (2022, August 25). What is grooming? https://bravehearts.org.au/about-child-sexual-abuse/what-is-grooming?

Bravehearts (2022). What is Child Sexual Abuse?

https://bravehearts.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/BraveheartsInfoSheet_What-Is-Child-Sexual-Abuse.pdf

Cutajar, M., Mullen, P., Ogloff, J., Thomas, S., Wells, D., & Spataro, J. (2010). Suicide and fatal drug overdose in child sexual abuse victims: A historical cohort study. Medical Journal of Australia, 192, 184-187.

Fergusson, D. M., McLeod, G. F. H., & Horwood, L. J. (2013). Childhood sexual abuse and adult developmental outcomes: Findings from a 30-year longitudinal study in New Zealand. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(9), 664–674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.03.013

Gewirtz-Meydan, A., & Finkelhor, D. (2019). Sexual abuse and assault in a large national sample of children and adolescents. Child Maltreatment, DOI: 10.1177/1077559519873975.

Mohler-Kuo, M., Landolt, M., Maier, T., Meidert, U., Schönbucher, V., & Schnyder, U. (2014). Child sexual abuse revisited: A population-based cross-sectional study among Swiss adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 304-311.

National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. (2022, October 10). National Office for Child Safety. https://www.childsafety.gov.au/resources/national-principles-child-safe-organisations

Royal Commission. (2019, April 27). Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/

Ting, I., Scott, N., & Palmer, A. (2020). Rough justice: How police are failing survivors of sexual assault. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-28/how-police-are-failing-survivors-of-sexual-assault/11871364

Who perpetrates child sexual abuse? (2024, April 29). National Office for Child Safety.

https://www.childsafety.gov.au/about-child-sexual-abuse/who-perpetrates-child-sexual-abuse#:~:text=The%20Australian%20Child%20Maltreatment%20Study