Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Bill 2019. Child sexual exploitation is repulsive, and Labor is committed to doing everything possible to eradicate it and protect our children and young people. All children and young people need to be cared for and protected, and to feel safe so that they can reach their full potential. Children are the most precious and vulnerable members of our community, and, as such, it is our key responsibility to make sure children and young people are kept safe and protected. Children depend on adults as they grow up. They deserve our protection and support. Children should be fully protected so that they can survive, grow, learn and develop. Unfortunately, millions of children are not fully protected. Many of these children deal with violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, exclusion and/or discrimination.

In 2014-15 there were 320,000 reports made to the child protection authorities in Australia, which equates to a report on one child every two minutes. In that same 12 months 42,457 children suffered abuse or neglect—that is one child every 13 minutes. All children have the right to be heard, to be safe, to belong and to receive adequate care in a protected environment.

Labor will be supporting the intent of this bill, which implements several of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and builds on the reforms and policies implemented under the Labor government. During this royal commission there were thousands of people who experienced sexual abuse as children in institutions and settings, from schools to sporting groups, across Australia. We know the devastating effect the stories that we heard had not only on the victims but on all of us. We need to acknowledge these survivors for their courage to speak out and to help shape our future to ensure that we can protect children from abuse in all institutions now and into the future.

The bill before the Senate is an omnibus criminal justice bill targeted at child sexual exploitation. We know that any child can be vulnerable to violation. The exact number of children experiencing violation is not easy to determine. However, it's estimated that around 150 million girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18 experienced forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual violence and exploitation during 2002. Worldwide, around 15 million adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 have experienced forced sex in their lifetimes. There are 150 million children aged five to 14 engaged in child labour. Millions of children, mostly girls, work as domestic labourers or maids in private homes. Around 1.2 million children are trafficked annually. These are staggering figures. Between 22 per cent and 84 per cent of children two to 14 years of age had experienced physical punishment in their home in 37 countries surveyed between 2005 and 2007.

Governments need to work with communities, local authorities and non-government organisations to ensure that children grow up in safe and protected environments. Together, we can make sure that schools and communities protect all children. We must work together to protect children from violations such as abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking and working in horrendous conditions as well as from harmful practices, including child marriage.

This bill implements several recommendations, as I said, from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by: creating an offence of failure to protect a child at risk of a sexual abuse offence; creating an offence of failure to report a child sexual abuse offence; and strengthening overseas persistent child sexual abuse laws. Recommendation 33 of the royal commission stated that jurisdictions should introduce a criminal offence for failing to report child sexual abuse. It is vitally important that everyone works together. If a person knows that a child or a young adult is at risk, that person needs to take the necessary steps to report the abuse to the relevant authorities. By not doing so, they are knowingly putting that child or young person at unnecessary risk.

A child that is impacted by abuse or neglect can then be put at risk of consequences to their growth and development that can include retarded quantitative development, poor self-development, poor self-esteem, poor language developments, diminished verbal skills, possible psychiatric disorders, an inability to form meaningful relationships and diminished life-coping skills. These are serious effects which can be avoided. It is understood that these sexually violent events have a significant impact on an individual's ability to function within our society, especially when it comes to employment, educational attainment, relationship development and parenting.

Recommendation 36 in the royal commission's Criminal justice report stated that state and territory governments should introduce legislation to create a criminal offence of failure to protect a child within an institution from a substantial risk of sexual abuse by an adult associated with the institution. The bill proposes a new offence in the Criminal Code for a Commonwealth officer who negligently fails to reduce or remove the risk to a child under their care, supervision or authority of being sexually abused if it is part of their actual or effective responsibilities as a Commonwealth officer to reduce or remove that risk. A child who is at risk or has suffered abuse relies on those people who have supervision and authority over them to protect them from greater harm or risk. When this does not happen, the child is let down and is at even greater risk of experiencing long-term effects in their personal lives as a result. Those who are responsible to protect children should be held responsible when they fail to do so.

Other measures in this bill form a suite of child protection measures which would: criminalise the possession or control of child pornography material or child abuse material in the form of data that has been obtained or accessed using a carriage service; prevent certain dealings with childlike sexual dolls and criminalise the possession of childlike sex dolls—it is hard to talk about these things but they are things we have to be aware of to ensure that people who are importing these dolls are held accountable; improve the definition of 'forced marriage'; and restrict the defence based on a valid genuine marriage to overseas child sex offences. In the digital age, it is of utmost importance that children are protected from online predators who sit behind their computers. These predators knowingly access and obtain material that leads to the harm of children. The amendment to the bill would make a childlike sex doll a child abuse material that would be a criminal act to possess or bring into the country.

'Forced marriage' under federal law is defined as forced if a person doesn't freely and fully consent or if they are incapable of understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony. This may be due to a person's age or mental capacity. Australian law notes that children under the age of 16 are presumed incapable of understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony. Forced marriage is significantly different to an arranged marriage. In an arranged marriage, the parties marry freely who they choose and are not faced with negative consequences if they choose not to go ahead with the marriage. There is not always a clear line between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage, especially when there is pressure put on a young person to do what their family wants. Forced marriages can have long-term consequences on a person's options for their own future. Choosing what a young person wants is often reduced and limited. Pregnancy can follow a forced marriage, and the consequences are considerable. When a child is forced into a marriage they often do not finish school, are at a higher risk of mental health issues and, if they become pregnant, can be neither psychologically nor physically ready.

During the process of the royal commission, it was noted that some stakeholders had concerns about aspects of the bill. The Law Council expressed their concern with regard to the application of absolute liability to the offences of failing to protect children at risk of sexual abuse and failing to report child sex abuse. They also had concerns in relation to the absolute liability of the offence relating to a Commonwealth officer committing an offence if: (1) there is a child in his or her care in his or her capacity as a Commonwealth officer; (2) he or she knows there is a substantial risk that a potential offender will engage in conduct in relation to the child or knows of information that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the potential offender has already or will engage in conduct in relation to the child; (3) such conduct, if engaged in, would constitute a child sexual abuse offence; and (4) he or she negligently fails to reduce or remove that risk or fails to report the risk. Under the bill, the prosecution would not have to prove that the defendant knew the fact in relation to the child abuse; they would only have to prove as a matter of fact that the defendant might have thought they knew of the sexual abuse offence. The Law Council have also raised concerns with the maximum penalty being applied to those offences of possessing a childlike sex doll and the fault element that is applied in relation to that offence.

There have also been concerns raised around the reporting requirements and the Law Council, around a lawyer failing to disclose information subject of legal professional privilege. In reply it has been argued that the bill does not require a person to breach legal professional privilege or any other legal obligation of confidentiality. In addition to Labor's comments to the Senate inquiry, Labor accepts the response of the Department of Home Affairs and the Attorney-General's Department that the application of absolute liability in these very limited circumstances is appropriate to ensure compliance with the reporting regime established by the bill. However, it was made clear by Labor senators that the operation of these provisions should be closely monitored following the enactment of the bill. Labor senators also accepted that, in these very limited circumstances, it was necessary to do so to ensure that the reporting requirements introduced by the bill are effective.

Labor will be closely monitoring the government and the steps that it takes to implement this bill to see that it implements the bill how it has been intended: to protect Australia's most precious and vulnerable members of our community who need to be protected and supported so that they can be safe and so that they can reach their full potential. Let's not forget it's our responsibility to protect the most vulnerable—to protect our children—all Australian children and young people. Let's not forget the responsibility that have we towards Australians who go offshore and towards sexually abused children who are vulnerable because of economic circumstances and other issues. We as a country should be well aware of them so that we can protect them and play our role as a member of the international community to honour and protect the children of our future and the leaders of the future.