Aboriginal Child Protection
ANALYSIS OF THE INQUIRY AND SUBSEQUENT INTERVENTION OF:
Ampe akelyernemane meke mekarle: “little children are sacred”. Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse.
The 2007 inquiry into The Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse was prompted after a number of allegations were made relating to the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory. Also known as the Little Children are Sacred, the purpose of the inquiry was to investigate child sexual abuse allegations in Aboriginal communities and identify improved means to protect Aboriginal children from such abuse.
Summary of ‘The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry’
(Please see Appendix 1 …show more content…
• Establish ways the government could assist in the education and support of Aboriginal people to prevent the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children.
Due to the myriad of contributing factors associated with child abuse, some have said the terms of reference were not wide enough (James, 2006) however, rather than being overwhelmed by volume, the terms of reference included the most relevant issues (Anderson, 2006).
The inquiry visited 45 Northern Territory communities, held 262 meetings and received 65 written submissions from individuals and organisations. From this, the inquiry gathered a large amount of information which was assembled into 97 recommendations. The landmark report exposed a deeply disturbing environment of sexual abuse across the Northern Territory requiring an urgent but multidimensional long-term response to a very complex …show more content…
Despite the intense national attention the report roused, health workers sent in by the government have checked fewer than half of the children in their target group (Peatling & Metherall, 2008). According to the Australian Medical Association, Northern Territory president Dr Peter Beaumont, there are still “nowhere near enough doctors in the territory” to conduct the medical checks (Hart, 2007). Dr Beaumont suggests that the governments strategy was not planned sufficiently, that ‘you can’t just bring people in and train them in a few days and expect them to know how communicate and deal with Aboriginal people’ (Hart,
Ampe akelyernemane meke mekarle: “little children are sacred”. Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse.
The 2007 inquiry into The Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse was prompted after a number of allegations were made relating to the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory. Also known as the Little Children are Sacred, the purpose of the inquiry was to investigate child sexual abuse allegations in Aboriginal communities and identify improved means to protect Aboriginal children from such abuse.
Summary of ‘The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry’
(Please see Appendix 1 …show more content…
• Establish ways the government could assist in the education and support of Aboriginal people to prevent the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children.
Due to the myriad of contributing factors associated with child abuse, some have said the terms of reference were not wide enough (James, 2006) however, rather than being overwhelmed by volume, the terms of reference included the most relevant issues (Anderson, 2006).
The inquiry visited 45 Northern Territory communities, held 262 meetings and received 65 written submissions from individuals and organisations. From this, the inquiry gathered a large amount of information which was assembled into 97 recommendations. The landmark report exposed a deeply disturbing environment of sexual abuse across the Northern Territory requiring an urgent but multidimensional long-term response to a very complex …show more content…
Despite the intense national attention the report roused, health workers sent in by the government have checked fewer than half of the children in their target group (Peatling & Metherall, 2008). According to the Australian Medical Association, Northern Territory president Dr Peter Beaumont, there are still “nowhere near enough doctors in the territory” to conduct the medical checks (Hart, 2007). Dr Beaumont suggests that the governments strategy was not planned sufficiently, that ‘you can’t just bring people in and train them in a few days and expect them to know how communicate and deal with Aboriginal people’ (Hart,