 | Frankly speaking... The Federal Government said last Friday it will work with the states and territories to set up a national framework to offer compensation to victims of child sex abuse. But the problem with what the Commonwealth seems to be proposing is that by running individual schemes in different states and territories survivors from different places around the country will inevitably, be treated differently. | |  |  | |  | Perth Archbishop calls for greater focus on CSA and survivors The Archbishop of Perth, Tim Costelloe, says the screening of the movie Spotlight is an opportunity for all the Church in Australia to acknowledge the extent church leaders and others failed 'to be the signs and bearers of God's love and compassion they were expected, and appointed, to be". Writing in The Record he says the film, which details the uncovering of child sexual abuse in the Boston Archdiocese, has many parallels for the Catholic Church in Australia. "Here, too, defenceless and innocent children and young people were sexually abused by priests, religious and other Church personnel. Their faith and their lives were profoundly damaged, if not destroyed, by this terrible betrayal," Archbishop Costelloe writes. Spotlight was released in Australia last week. | | |  |  | |  | New child protection laws begin in Victoria  Victorian organisations that work with children and are funded or regulated by the Victorian Government must now comply with mandatory child safety standards and reporting obligations. The new laws, which aim to ensure that organisations that deal with children have appropriate and consistent measures in place to prevent and respond to allegations of child abuse, came into effect from 1 January. Read report on Pro Bono |  | | | | |  | |  | Working Ethically in Child Protection In their day-to-day practice, social work and human services practitioners frequently find themselves in confusing ethical quandaries, trying to balance the numerous competing interests of protecting children from harm and promoting family and community capacity. In this book the authors aim to prepare students and early-career professionals for roles in the complex and challenging work of child protection and family support. Authors: Bob Lonne, Maria Harries, Brid Featherstone, Mel Gray | | |  |  | |  | Being Safe and Feeling Safe: Children's conceptualisation of interpersonal safety  The Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University has released findings of the first part of a study commissioned by the Royal Commission examining children's experiences and perceptions of safety in institutions. The study was based on the view that children and young people understand and experience safety in different ways to adults, and without an appreciation of what children and young people need to be and feel safe, responses may fail to adequately respond to their concerns. |  | | | | |  | |  | Assistance for people appearing before the Royal Commission Legal financial assistance is a grant to cover the reasonable costs of legal representation and disbursements relating to the provision of evidence to the Royal Commission. You are eligible to apply for legal financial assistance if you receive a letter from the Royal Commission requesting you attend an interview, or are called, or given leave to appear, as a witness at a public or private hearing. You are not eligible to apply if you appear on behalf of an organisation, or attend a private session. | | |  | |  | Spotlight opens in Australia Tom McCarthy, the director and co-writer of the film Spotlight, says Catholics should not be put off seeing his Oscar-nominated film about the Boston Globe's investigation into sexual abuse by clergy. The film, which was released in Australia this month, tells the story of The Boston Globe's investigation into the cover-up of clerical abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston. The film has been endorsed by church leaders in the US and abuse survivors alike. McCarthy says the film deals with a sensitive issue and part of the approach was to not sensationalise or be gratuitous. "It's not just a question of a newspaper going after the Church but also a larger question of societal complicity and deference, in this case towards the Church, but also in general. | | |  | | |
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