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| Ian Gilfillan Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
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| Correctional Services News Attorney-General's News Family & Youth Services News |
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| Ian Gilfillan Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
News Release |
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| Correctional Services News Attorney-General's News Family & Youth Services News |
CHILD SEX OFFENDERS: "CROSS YOUR FINGERS" POLICY
The State Government has acknowledged, 14 months after the question was asked, that child sex offenders are not treated until AFTER they are released from jail.Democrats Shadow Attorney-General, Ian Gilfillan, drew attention to the problem in March 1999. He outlined to Parliament research by the University of South Australia, which strongly indicated that treating child sex offenders in jail could save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I thought that appealing to the bean-counters in the State Government might work, because appealing to their sense of fairness, compassion, and responsibility has so far achieved little for child-sex victims. (See Background)
"But after 14 months of ignoring my question, the State Government says it is only now ‘considering’ the issue.
"The letter confirms what I already suspected: victims of child sex offenders are way down the Government’s list of priorities.
"We have had from the Minister 14 months of inactivity. In 14 months since the landmark research by the University of South Australia, the best the Government can do for victims is to merely begin thinking about the issue.
"In the meantime, child sex offenders are released from jail, untreated, and the Government merely ‘crosses its fingers’ and hopes they won’t re-offend.
| Child victims of sexual assault often lack one responsible adult who is reliable and a constant presence in their lives. The State Government denies them even that, because it appoints child protection social workers on a month-to-month basis. Six months is considered a long contract at Family & Youth Services. Losing a series of responsible adult support workers, one after the other, as many victims do, is likely to jeopardise a child’s recovery from an abusive episode. | Child victims of sexual assault are still forced to confront their alleged attackers in court. The Labor party and the Liberals have voted together in Parliament, against Democrat amendments that would have made use of closed-circuit television a presumption for taking the evidence of child witnesses (subject to the child’s wishes.) |
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Ian Gilfillan
