One virtue of this article, is that it is short: I exhort the other authors to follow this example!

Find me, if you can, a boy or a girl that were not let down.

Children can be and are traumatised by adults, by other children, by animals and by other natural and social conditions.

The kids who were sent to Vietnam to war, were far more traumatised than those who were abused sexually. If I faced a choice between conscription and being f*c**d every day as a child, I would definitely choose the latter.

If everyone who suffered under traumatising people/conditions in their childhood is to be financially compensated, then we end up in complete socialism where everyone pays everyone: whatever trauma one already suffered, now we are encouraged to become thieves as well...

Yuyutsu,

I agree with you on the length of articles; if they don't fit on one page they are boring. I find that, in at least 80% of articles, you learn everything you need to know by reading the first and last paragraphs; everything in between is just padding.

Unjust and uncaring?

Well as a survivor of many many years of institutional care! Why should the government be expected to step into the very shoes of criminal perpetrators?

Who ought to be forced by the law of the land to to redress their wrongs and not with the current tokenism.

As for me, I'll never ever ask for something never ever offered freely and by choice! As rightful recognition of past countless wrongs by countless sanctioned and protected wrong doers.

People who believe in reincarnation also believe in karma! So as you sow, so also shall you reap. Unless truncated by REAL REMORSE, redress and REAL reconciliation?

Reincarnation as believed by millions, tells us there is no easy out! Just even more karma!? You've got to go through it to get past it!

Who can say for sure and for certain, they've got it wrong?

Maybe if they opened death's door and returned with an eyewitness account?

And dare I say, redirected priorities?
Alan B.

Sexual abuse of children is appalling, traumatic and totally reprehensible. But it didn't just happen to children in institutions, in fact, far more children have been abused by family and friends of family than those in group situations.
Certainly all abused children should be given free access to counselling to help them overcome this trauma, but we cannot expect today's government to provide endless reparation for circumstances that happened in the past.
As I see it, the responsibility of government today is to provide an environment where abused children have the sense of security and support that allows them to report all abuse, regardless of perpetrator.
That means extensive education of children and provision of key personnel to be available to listen to children.
It also means far tougher sentences of anyone convicted of sexual abuse.
On a final note, whilst hearing about all the evidence in the Royal Commission recently I sometimes wondered about the feelings of all those tens of thousands of children abused by family and friends, watching the sympathy and support given to just one group. I don't disagree with the purpose of the Commission, just some acknowledgment could have been given to all those who will never be recognised or compensated.

I have definite views on this. Governments should NOT reward victims of crime.
Government responsibility to victims, is to hunt down and punish perpetrators.

No amount of money can compensate for a lifetime of damage child abuse often inflicts.
But, the absurdity of compensating victims of crime, is really highlighted with this issue of child abuse.

The Government has set a limit that only includes snowy white and pure victims, ones with no evidence of abusive tendencies caused by that abuse, which may have had outcomes of a criminal record. That is an absurd stand.

One of the very forward consequences of abused children, is a lifetime of confusion with moral issues, self destructive and abusive behaviour

dd,

I agree with you. Money in no way assuages the hurt of the victims, and it is extracted from the public without their permission. As you say, the responsibility of the authorities is to investigate and punish, not to pay off victims as do some parents with sweeties when a child hurts itself. I suspect that that the robber politicians and bureaucrats who constantly plunder the public person do so to make the victims 'go away' quicker.

What a pile of bollocks. putting a cap and mechanism for determining damages speeds the process up and avoids a long and expensive court case for every victim which may well end up costing them more than they win.

Shadow Minister,

Is there something in particular that you regard as a "load of bollocks"? Or is it just anything you don't agree with?

Agree with most of what you say Big Nana. On the condition that false memory and accuracy is properly tested?

The first, by clinical psychologists utilising deep hypnosis? And on the clear understanding, there are only two groups who can't be hypnotised!

Very small children, because their attention span is too short and the criminally insane?

Hypnosis may require several sessions to establish both rapport and trust? Both of which are essential!

Truth telling is easier to validate, with covertly deployed cameras the are linked to C.A.F.R And thermal imaging.

The first sees those tiny tell tale facial movements that indicate terminological inexactitude, the second the parts of the cerebral cortex that always, always light up when the subject is bearing false witness!

Regardless if a pathological liar and or routinely able to beat a polygraph test. With the evidence properly tested in private and validated by a means far more reliable than traditional, witness badgering by belligerent barristers allowed to stand and included as validated witness input!

Even where names are suppressed to protect the innocent! Who are never ever assisted by further or repeated stigmatisation!

And then let the chips fall where they may, with the innocent compensated as well as they can be?

Which may be just having their witness statements believed and the perpetrators sent for appropriate treatment where possible? Or placed in restricted detention where not!?

Those tiny, tiny percentage, who lie utterly and ultra convincingly under oath? No better than the perpetrators, given the grave miscarriage of justice outcomes that may be achieved?

Like death row for alleged black rapists, charged it would seem, with someone else's crime? DNA evidence can sometimes convict a near relative/sibling?
Alan B.

I have to admit that I am completely astounded by not only the lack of understanding, but the lack of compassion from people commenting on this article.

Firstly, the length of this article is completely irrelevant and takes away from the serious issue that is being discussed.

Secondly, to the commenter who claims they would prefer to "be f&*d" every day as a child than to have served their country in ANY war, shame on you! Not only do you show a complete lack of understanding and compassion for the innocent CHILDREN! who have been violated in ways I am sure you can never imagine, but you have also taken away from the countless men and women who have chosen to serve their country in order to protect the ignorance of people such as yourself.

I absolutely, 100% agree with the sentiments of this article and call "shame on you" to the Australian Government. These CHILDREN, and yes I use capitols again because some seem to be forgetting that these are CHILDREN we are talking about, were in the care of organizations the government represents, whether it be through funding or policy support. That is why the Government are involved and that is exactly why the government SHOULD be compensating these victims, regardless of whether they grew up to be perpetrators or not. They were children when they were violated in the most inexplicable ways. It was this that has led to the mistakes they have made as adults. While I am not condoning ANYONE who hurts children, I do believe that everyone has the right to justice. Everyone has the right to have their pain and suffering acknowledged and until you have experienced this personally, you do not have the right to judge, you do not have the right to decide who is deserving and who is not and you know what? Even when you have experienced trauma in this way, it still doesn't give anyone the right to judge as everyone's experience is different.

I have no doubt that many children were sexually abused in these institutions. However, I suspect that many of them were abused by other children. While I think most us understand the reasons this occurred, I only wish the silence about this would end.

I also find the obsession with churches unfair. If we put 100 similar kids together, in the same building, with the same pre-existing problems and the same level of staffing and supervision, the same problems would occur. This applies regardless of who was in charge of the institutions. Without the churches, those kids would have had no one.

Yes benk, lord of the flies and all that! Getting it out in the open a very useful first step to preventing more of the same, for the same length of time immemorial!
Alan B