[Forwarded from Child Protection Issues]
.
Failure in Protection — The Ten Breaks In The Family Court System

By Dr Amanda Gearing, Investigative Journalist, 2018

“THE INK is well dry now on the recommendations of the Royal Commission [into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse] that pave the way for improved child protection in institutions in Australia.

“One of the first systemic reforms that needs to be addressed now is to apply the recommendations as far as is possible to children who are under the control of the ‘institutions’ involved in the Family Law system. Failures of the past, of disbelieving children until there was a criminal conviction cannot be allowed to continue.

“To cite just one example: a girl of 8, who described being bound and sexually assaulted was found by a court-appointed psychiatrist, with no expertise in child sexual abuse, to have fabricated the claims. The mother, who believed the child‘s disclosures was found by the psychiatrist to be ‘too anxious’. The child was ordered to visit the father. Years later when the child turned 18 she disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted during court-ordered access visits.

The Royal Commission

“The Royal Commission has found, as have previous research studies, that children who disclose sexual abuse are almost always telling the truth [refer to research by Oatley below]. If this research finding is carried across to the Family Court system, we would expect to see 97.5% of children who disclose sexual abuse being protected from the alleged offender.

“This is simply not happening. Try calling a family lawyer and they will say ‘don’t report the abuse or you risk losing your child to the ex’.

“Most children do not report abuse but those who do should be immediately protected by the Family Law system including state and federal agencies including police, child safety departments, independent children’s lawyers and family report writers whose role is to protect children as their first priority.

The Institution that Is the Family Court

“At present, domestic violence orders issued in state jurisdictions are routinely over-ruled by Family Law orders and judgements and order children into contact with people whom the state child protection system deem a danger to them. There are reported cases where judges make findings that sexual abuse has mostly likely occurred and yet they still provide the offender with access to the child, judging the child’s relationship with the offender of more importance than the betrayal of that same relationship by the offender.

“One Sydney psychiatrist, for example, has publicly stated his view that most children who allege abuse are not telling the truth…

“Any failing in the system is a break in the chain of child protection. The system is only as strong as its weakest link – and there are TEN WEAK LINKS that need attention [further expanded on in this article]”.

https://gumshoenews.com/failur....e-in-protection-the-
.