The Labour government has been accused of “failing abused children” after failing to deliver a promised service that could help identify more victims of paedophiles, an expert has warned of a sickening new trend in child abuse.
The National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, launched by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison in November 2021, included a commitment to fund a national service for non-criminal family members of child sexual abuse perpetrators.
This leading service provides support to completely innocent mothers and children whose lives have been completely destroyed by the discovery that their husbands or fathers are suspected paedophiles.
It was recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and approved by the premiers of each state and territory.
A successful 18-month national pilot, running from July 2021 to April 2023, established a helpline and peer support network and helped train law enforcement.
But nearly a year and a half after the service was completed, Australia still lacks a proper national service, prompting child safety experts to call for an explanation for the delay.
Natalie Walker, director of PartnerSPEAK, a Victorian organisation that ran the national pilot, told Daily Mail Australia the delay meant “Australian families are experiencing unnecessary trauma”.
‘Australia is a global leader in responding to non-offending partners and families in a trauma-informed way.“And so we have no excuse,” Ms. Walker said.
The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Abuse, launched by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison in November 2021, included a commitment to fund a national service for non-criminal family members of child abuse perpetrators. But Labor has failed to deliver on this commitment
“We also know that when law enforcement partners with an agency that supports affected family members, it results in them being able to rescue more children from abuse.
“That is the responsibility of the attorney general, every day that this is delayed.”
Professor Michael Salter, an expert on child sexual exploitation and gender-based violence at the University of New South Wales, said the Department of Justice had given “no explanation” for the delay.
“The prolonged delay in funding this vital service is outrageous and has had a devastating impact on the partners and family members affected,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Nearly one in five people charged with a sexual offence in Australia are accused of having child sexual abuse material.
Professor Michael Salter, an expert on child sexual exploitation and gender-based violence at UNSW, said the Department of Justice had given “no explanation” for the delay (Picture: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus)
‘Most prosecuted sex crimes in the country involve child sexual abuse.
‘The number of affected family members is growing every day and without this funding they have no care and support.’
This comes as a new, disgusting trade in live streaming child abuse on demand has emerged in recent years.
“Ten years ago, you had to go out and produce the child pornography you wanted to consume yourself, but now you can outsource that very easily,” Walker explains.
‘Law enforcement is seeing a huge increase in live-streamed cases of child sexual abuse, of children being raped on demand.
‘That amounts to someone in Australia dictating the age, gender and hair colour of a child they want raped and abused and then describing in detail what that abuse entails.’
Ms. Walker, who has helped train more than 190 specialized detectives across the country, conducted research last year that showed that bereaved family members are vital to law enforcement in securing evidence that could save more children.
PartnerSPEAK works closely with Victoria Police, the AFP and the Joint Victoria Child Exploitation Team and can receive multiple referrals per week, often on the same day the warrant is served.
“When we read about it in the media, it’s all perpetrator-focused. We don’t think about what it would be like to be an intimate partner with this person,” Ms Walker said.
“The police have searched their home, sometimes a dozen officers for several hours, and then they leave. The affected family members may feel like they are the only ones in the world this has happened to.”
Ms Walker said it was vital to realise that help was available from organisations such as PartnerSPEAK.
Natalie Walker, the chief executive of Victorian organisation PartnerSPEAK which ran the national pilot, told Daily Mail Australia the delay meant ‘Australian families are going through unnecessary trauma’
Ms Walker also warned of a disgusting trend of made-to-order child sex abuse that has emerged in recent years (pictured: one of 19 Australian men charged in August last year in connection with a global paedophile ring).
“That direct connection is vital in combating trauma and PTSD, whereas in other states and territories where PartnerSPEAK isn’t there, the police just leave and those families are left empty-handed,” she added.
She claimed that law enforcement agencies are “desperate for this service,” with investigators often comparing the impact of their work to detonating a bomb in the perpetrator’s family.
They get traumatized by working with partners who have not committed any crimes,” Walker said.
‘Detectives often report that responding to family members who have not committed crimes is more stressful for them than viewing and categorizing child abuse material.’
Mrs Walker founded PartnerSPEAK 20 years ago after discovering her ex-husband allegedly had access to child abuse material.
She has written repeatedly to Attorney General Mark Dreyfus seeking an explanation for the delay in military service.
“(It) will provide essential services to innocent, traumatized, non-criminal partners and to the families of child abusers,” the most recent letter said.
“It will also help law enforcement rescue more children. Continued delays leave abused children and bereaved families stranded.”
The Justice Department said it was “working” to provide the service.
“To ensure the integrity of the procurement process, the ministry cannot provide further information on the timelines for this procurement,” a ministry spokesperson said.
‘The market approach explicitly stated that the timetable was only indicative.
‘The Australian Government has allocated approximately $10 million in the 2021-22 Budget to design, establish and evaluate the service for an initial period.
‘The department has undertaken extensive consultation and tendering processes to ensure that service delivery meets the highest standards.’