The Labour government has been accused of “leaving abused children in the lurch” after failing to deliver on a promised service that could help uncover more victims of paedophiles, as an expert warns of a sickening new trend in child abuse.
The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse, launched by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison in November 2021, included a commitment to fund a national service for non-offending family members of child sexual abuse perpetrators.
This world-leading service would offer support to completely innocent mothers and children whose lives have been completely shattered 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 project, running from July 2021 to April 2023, created a helpline, a peer support network, and helped train law enforcement.
But nearly a year and a half after its completion, Australia still does not have a proper national service, prompting child safety experts to call for an urgent explanation for the delay.
Natalie Walker, chief executive of Victorian organisation PartnerSPEAK, which ran the national pilot program, told Daily Mail Australia the delay means “Australian families are going through unnecessary trauma”.
‘Australia is a world leader in how to respond to non-abusive partners and families in a trauma-informed way.“And for that we have no excuse,” Ms. Walker said.
The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse, launched by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison in November 2021, included a commitment to fund a national service for non-offending relatives of perpetrators of child sexual abuse. But Labor has failed to deliver on this commitment.
‘We also know that when law enforcement works in collaboration with a service that supports affected families, they are able to rescue more children who are being abused.
“That is in the hands 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 Attorney-General’s Department had “not given any explanation” for the delay.
“The prolonged delay in funding this vital service is outrageous and is having a devastating effect on the partners and families affected,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Almost one in five people charged with a sexual offence in Australia is charged with a material offence of child sexual abuse.
UNSW child sexual exploitation and gender-based violence expert Professor Michael Salter said the Attorney-General’s Department had “not provided any explanation” for the delay (pictured: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus)
‘The majority of sexual crimes prosecuted in the country involve matters of child sexual abuse.
“The number of affected relatives increases every day and without this funding they are left without care or support.”
This comes at a time when a new and disgusting trade in child sexual abuse, streamed live and on demand, has emerged in recent years.
“Ten years ago, to produce child abuse material that you wanted to consume, you had to do it yourself, but now that can be outsourced very easily,” Ms Walker explained.
‘Authorities are seeing a huge increase in cases of live-streamed child sexual abuse and children being raped on demand.
“What this looks like is someone in Australia dictating the age, gender and hair colour of a child they want to see raped and abused and describing the exact details of what that abuse entails.”
Ms. Walker, who has helped train more than 190 specialist investigators across the country, conducted research last year that concluded that affected family members are crucial to helping law enforcement obtain evidence that will help rescue more children.
PartnerSPEAK works closely with Victoria Police, the AFP and the Joint Child Exploitation Team in Victoria and can receive multiple referrals per week, often on the same day a warrant is served.
“When we read about this in the media, it’s all about the abuser. We don’t imagine what it would be like to be that person’s intimate partner,” Walker said.
“Law enforcement has raided their home, sometimes up to a dozen officers for several hours, and then left. Affected family members may feel as if they are the only person in the world to whom this has happened.”
Ms Walker said it was vital to realise there was help available from organisations like PartnerSPEAK.
Natalie Walker, chief executive of Victorian organisation PartnerSPEAK, which led the national pilot project, told Daily Mail Australia the delay means “Australian families are going through unnecessary trauma”.
Ms Walker also warned of a sickening trend of child sex abuse for hire that has emerged in recent years (pictured: one of 19 Australian men charged in connection with a global paedophile ring in August last year)
“That immediate connection is huge in combating trauma and PTSD, whereas in other states and territories that don’t have PartnerSPEAK, law enforcement walks away when a court order is issued and those families are left stranded,” she added.
He said law enforcement agencies are “desperate for this service” and that investigators often compare the impact of their work to detonating a bomb inside the perpetrator’s family.
‘They are traumatized by the work’ with non-offending partners,’ Ms Walker said.
‘Researchers often report that responding to non-offending family members is more distressing to themselves than viewing and categorizing child abuse material.’
Ms Walker founded PartnerSPEAK 20 years ago after discovering her ex-husband was allegedly accessing child abuse material.
She has repeatedly written to Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to ask for an explanation for the delay in national service.
“It will provide critical services to innocent, traumatized, non-offending partners, as well as families of child sex offenders,” the latest letter reads.
“It will also help law enforcement rescue more children. Continuing delays are leaving abused children and affected families stranded.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Federal Attorney General’s office for comment.
