Plea for better ways to protect children
CHILD protection crusader Hetty Johnston says Australia’s justice system needs an overhaul before it can stop failing children.
The Bravehearts founder said she’d be using Queensland Child Protection Week, which runs until Saturday, to shine a light on support needed for child victims of sexual assault.
“We can’t just encourage children to speak and then abandon them, only 3 per cent of sex offences against children results in offenders found guilty and incarcerated,” Ms Johnston said.
“There are no witnesses in these cases and it’s one word against the other – usually the person is known to the child and that’s often hard for the family to accept.
“We teach kids in school to know where their private parts are, to trust their instinct, we teach them about stranger safety but we need a system designed to support them.”
After spending more than two decades championing the rights of sexually abused children, her latest campaign is asking for a million signatures of support of a new system.
“I’m disappointed child sex crimes have continued at the rates it has, we’re working in silos and, the police and legal system and victim support groups all need to be working in unison and have that information sharing,” she said. “There isn’t a legal system that is designed for children so we have to change our approach.
Townsville-based family court lawyer Kerri Patterson said she agreed the current system needed improvement, including greater access to legal advice.
“Legal Aid Queensland offers financial assistance to eligible families to get legal advice but I definitely think this jurisdiction is one of the biggest outside of south-east Queensland,” she said.
“There’s more work out there than we can possibly handle because there is a demand for people to do this work, even just having some more referral pathways would be great.”
For more information visit bravehearts.org.au.