Introduction
Child abuse and sexual assault is one of the burning issues in the Australian as well as world scenario. It has been noticed that in Australia the incidents of sexual abuse of children are increasing in spite of implementation of strict rules. It has been monitored that the incidents of sexual abuse of children are increasing along with the passing time. A common phenomenon that has been monitored by the sociologists that the victims in most of the cases know the offenders, who perform such heinous activities. This has raised significant concern amongst the sociologists as well as the government, as they can understand the difficulty of addressing the issue where the victims are in close affinity to the criminals. Hence, the primary method that the Australian government has taken up is to build public awareness amongst the Australians. The present discussion hence will focus on the importance of Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Overview
In order to address the issues of child sexual abuse, the Australian government has established a commission that will effectively work towards eliminating the issues of child assaults and sexual abuses (Cossar, Brandon and Jordan, 2016). The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is a statutory body that has been established in the year 2013 by the government of Australia.
Aim
The primary aim of the commission is to reduce and eliminate the incidents of child assault and sexual abuse from the country. Moreover, the commission also acknowledges the sufferings of the victims and their family members. In this regard, it can be said that the commission also works towards providing sufficient moral and medical support to the victims of child sexual abuse (Head 2011). The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse also aims at running effective rehabilitation programs to the victims. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has pointed out that child abuse does not only affect them but it will also affect the whole community in the future.
Reasons behind Child Assault
The child abuse and mainly the sexual child abuse are done by the people around the individual. They are the people whom the individual trusts. In 90% of the cases of child abuse the child knows the person who abuses them sexually (McConnell and Sigurjónsdóttir 2010). Reports suggest that the people who abuses sexually are also victim of child abuse in their childhood. Therefore, it can be seen that it forms a chain and how it affects the society. Some abusers who abuse the children have mental problems, they see themselves as kids too, and they do not know what they are doing. This type of abusers has a strong desire for sexual activities with the kids. This is a mental disease and is known as pedophilia (Ainsworth and Hansen 2012). The sexual abusers are usually the men, and it is shocking as the children are having a huge respect for them and they trust them. Some of the abusers have stated that they are struggling to meet their sexual needs with other adults so they turn on the children to meet their needs who are innocent and cannot fight or stop them. Rough childhood and lack of care and attention in the society also makes the abusers to fulfill and gain attention from the children. Children with no parents are highly prone towards sexual abuse as they do not have anyone to take care of and people think that they are a way of meeting their sexual desires (McDowall 2013).
Global Condition
Every day there is 1100 cases are reported of child abuse around the world (Bessarab and Crawford 2012). Children having rough or abusive childhood can prove to be a danger in the near future. Each year there are 400,000 cases of childhood cases are reported. Statistics suggests that there are two of every three people who are convicted of murders of first degree have had a history of serious physical and mental abuse in their early days (Cossar, Brandon and Jordan, 2016). Prostitutes are reported that they are abused sexually in their childhood and which led them to come in this profession as the society does not accept them. There are many juveniles who said that they are having a tough time to adjust with the society as they are being physically assaulted and punished in their home in their childhood days. Child abuse is common in every parts of the country especially in the country with growing or underdeveloped economy. They tend to have a rough childhood and which leads them to come into the profession that they never wanted. They become a serious threat for the next generation. Billions of dollars are being spent each year of therapy, medicine and rehabilitation that aims at minimizing the damage (Van et al 2014). Sexually abuse children tend to commit suicide, which also affects the people around him and creates a negative atmosphere in the society. The sexually abusive children also tend to become some serious threat for the society in the future, which affects the society.
The crime needs to be stopped and it can only be stopped by giving them the perfect scenario to grow from their childhood. Rough childhood will increases case like this and eventually will harm the society and people living around him/her (Head 2011). This also affects the nations, as discussed earlier the children are the future of the society and if they have a childhood like this then they will not be able to carry their county in their shoulder. Increase in crime rate will severely affect the country and people will not want to stay in a country where the crime rate is so high. The sexual abusers are often the people who the victim trusts blindly and when they get such behavior form, them they tend to lose respect and they struggle to trust any people in future. Other than this sexual abuse, cause many health issues for example loss of appetite, eating disorder, withdrawal, or aggressiveness. It also causes nightmares, heightened startle response, poor concentration, and hyper-vigilance, and in some cases, the child may appear depressed, withdrawn, or lethargic.
Present Scenario in Australia
The current Child Abuse Prevention Programs that have been taken up by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse are focused on educating the elementary and the preschool children about how to understand or recognize the instances of the abuse. The children need to be taught about how to defend themselves in those kinds of situations. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is also taking up various programs in which the victims are being provided with proper counseling and attention so that they do not commit suicide or make crimes like this in future (Ainsworth and Hansen 2012). The society needs to stop blaming the victims and needs to start taking action on how these abusers can be stopped. Child abuse can be stopped if the society learns about the true nature and the facts that the people close to them are ones who prove to be the real abusers. The government needs to make proper policies and punishment of abusing a child.
Recommendation:
Sexual child abuse is a burning issue in the Australian society and this need to be stopped as soon as possible else, it will continue to harm the society and the generations to come. In order to stop the incidents of child sexual abuse the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse can take up the following actions:
- The commission needs to raise awareness programs in order to increase acceptability of the victims in the society.
- Citizens need to know that child abuse is a crime and often can cause serious mental problem to them in the future.
- The parents or the caregiver need to understand that they help are available for them and the metal condition can be improved by proper counseling.
- Educating and making the public understand about the true nature and the true meaning of actual child sexual abuse.
- The policymakers need to understand that who are the real child abusers and should spread the awareness.
- Children without parents need to be given proper attention. The care giver needs to be given proper attention about whom they are interacting with.
- Continuously evaluating and making changes to strengthen the child sexual abuse prevention programs needs to be done.
Conclusion:
Children are the future of the society and they are the ones who will help the nation to grow in the future. Sexual abuse is a major issue in the society which cause serious damage to the society. Sexual child abuse can cause due to several reasons. Reports suggested that more than 400,000 children are sexually abused each year around the world. The sexual child abuse is often caused by men and by the people whom the victims trust blindly. The sexual abuse can occur in school, house anywhere. Children need to be given proper care and needs to be educated about the instance of the abuse. They should identify or recognize the situation when they are sexually abused. The child abuse victims later become a serious threat to the society. Reports suggest that two of every three people in the society who commits murder have a rough and abusive childhood. It affects their mental state and they become unable to trust people easily. The child abuse can be stopped by spreading awareness in the society about the sexual abuses that children are facing each day around the world. The children need to be taught proper ways of defending themselves in the society.
References
Ainsworth, F. and Hansen, P., 2012. Doing harm while doing good: The child protection paradox. Child & Youth Services, 33(2), pp.146-157.
Bessarab, D. and Crawford, F., 2012. Trauma, grief and loss: The vulnerability of Aboriginal families in the child protection system. In Our Voices: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Work (pp. 93-113). Palgrave MacMillan.
Cossar, J., Brandon, M. and Jordan, P., 2016. ‘You've got to trust her and she's got to trust you’: children's views on participation in the child protection system. Child & Family Social Work, 21(1), pp.103-112.
Head, B.W., 2011. Why not ask them? Mapping and promoting youth participation. Children and Youth services review, 33(4), pp.541-547.
Keddell, E., 2011. Reasoning processes in child protection decision making: Negotiating moral minefields and risky relationships. The British Journal of Social Work, 41(7), pp.1251-1270.
McConnell, D. and Sigurjónsdóttir, H.B., 2010. Caught in the child protection net. Parents with intellectual disabilities: Past, present and futures, pp.171-187.
McDowall, J.J., 2013. Experiencing out-of-home care in Australia. The views of children and young people (CREATE Report Card 2013). Sydney: CREATE Foundation.
Parton, N., 2017. Comparing child protection systems. The Routledge handbook of global child welfare, p.225.
Van Bijleveld, G.G., Dedding, C.W.M. and Bunders-Aelen, J.F.G., 2014. Seeing eye to eye or not? Young people's and child protection workers' perspectives on children's participation within the Dutch child protection and welfare services. Children and Youth Services Review, 47, pp.253-259.
