The IICSA in England and Wales need to take action.
The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is finishing its fourth year in business. According to the opinions of many, it’s been well-funded and well run.
Justice Peter McClellan has lead the charge with poise and precision.
Some of the highlights included the appointment of six Commissioners, the use of private sessions and the use of the media.
In the course of the Royal Commission, over 5,000 survivors of child sexual abuse have had face to face meetings with a Commissioner.
The information obtained from these people has provided the Royal Commission with an enormous database of offenders and their institutions. The Commission has been able to use this database to move forward with the public hearings that followed.
One of the most encouraging things to learn is that the victims who have bravely come forward have been heard and believed by someone with authority.
These hearings have been highly publicised, focusing on the victims’ stories, those who preyed on them and how the functionaries of churches and charities responded.
At times there has been media saturation which has lead to shock among the Australian public. Earlier in 2016, that willingness by the media to inform the public resulted in Cardinal Pell’s appearance via video link from Rome was even broadcast live by Sky News.
Sixty Minutes on Network Nine also ran a story on Parramatta Girls’ Home. Evening news programs in Australia showed ageing men arriving at the court to answer criminal charges that were sparked by public hearings.
“The treatment of its subject matter by the Royal Commission has been very thorough. Not a stone has been left unturned", Says Peter Kelso of Kelso Lawyers, a leading Australian law firm that specialises in institutional sexual abuse cases.
"The confidence of the public has been won, and we will now look on to see whether Justice McClellan will get some of the big scalps from within the Catholic Church".
Many will agree with Kelso that scalps are needed to ‘repay’ the Federal Government for its investment. A Prime Minister doesn’t call a Royal Commission without expecting a political reward.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the same inquiry has failed to gather momentum. There have been four Chairpersons in two years with two counsels assisting. And yet, there has been only one Commissioner.
Moreover, there has not been one public hearing and none of the evidence has been examined.
It appears that funding is not what it should be. No private sessions have been held to date, as is the case in Australia. It would appear that the Inquiry is guessing and remains very unsure about what to do next.
As a result, there is no momentum, and public confidence has waned.
"Why the UK Parliament hasn’t opted to copy the Australian model is beyond me”, says Kelso.
While the IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse) has promised to identify institutional failings, insist upon accountability and provide support for victims and survivors, little has actually been done.
Child sexual abuse exploits and ruins lives. It affects families, caregivers, colleagues and friends, as well as the institutions established to deal with the horror.
But when it becomes an institutional problem itself, then we are far past issues of criminality: We have entered into an era of systemic destruction of our most vulnerable citizens - something that all Governments should be taking seriously.