by Dee McLachlan

Over the last year and a half, I have heard about horrific failures in child protection — where children are not believed and sent back to their abusers. In fact, a good doctor (Dr Russell Pridgeon), in following the Hippocratic Oath to care for and protect young children, was turned into a victim of the criminality by Australian agencies.

Children Left at Risk

What is happening in the UK and US is a mirror of what is happening here in Australia. An article in The Guardian entitled, “Children left at risk of abuse after failures in safeguarding” describes how offenses within families continued unchecked:

“Vulnerable children are being left at risk of sexual abuse… according to a damning report into child protection. It warns that shortcomings in police investigations, management of offenders…

“Failures to fully investigate abuse for as long as a year left some children at risk…”

There are several cases I know of in Australia where child protection agencies have ignored and concealed several years of disclosures that were made to a large number of mandatory reporters. It seems that these abusers are a “protected species.”

The alarming findings are contained in a major report by some of the country’s (UK) leading inspectorates, to be published this week. To continue with The Guardian:

“Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said: ‘It’s unacceptable for children to be left at risk by the very agencies supposed to protect them. Too often, children abused at their family home are repeatedly victimised, while perpetrators are allowed back on the streets unchecked… It’s disappointing that we’re still seeing agencies working in silos, and professionals lacking the confidence to challenge decisions that aren’t in children’s best interests. There is a striking lack of grip – nationally and locally – on this endemic problem. This has to change’.”

It sounds like the report was written for Australia. The report did find “pockets of good work”, but the study uncovers “deep concerns” about how some cases were being treated. Failings include lengthy delays of up to a year in arresting or questioning suspects, and in the forensic examination of computers and phones.

The Guardian article describes how in one case, police failed to even interview a family member until four weeks after a child had disclosed that they had abused her. That’s nothing. In Australia, in this one case, the child protection department actually stopped (HALTED) the investigation — steadfastly refusing to view the injury from a knife assault.

Police Should Be Prosecuted

Another article from the UK, by the BBC, reports, “Manchester sex abuse: Police ‘should be prosecuted.” A whistle-blowing former detective has called for police officers to be prosecuted for “deliberately ignoring” the sexual abuse of young girls.

Recall that I wrote about a corrupt police officer in South Australia in 2017 and 2018 (“Officer Demeter”). The BBC article is writing about abuse between 2003 and 2005 — specifically — “gross criminal neglect at the top echelons” of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Why does it take so long to rectify these failures?

To quote the BBC:

“Police identified at least 97 suspects, but ‘very few’ faced justice, its authors found. GMP’s Operation Augusta was set up in February 2004 to tackle ‘the sexual exploitation throughout a wide area of a significant number of children in the care system by predominantly Asian men’, the report said. A major investigation team quickly identified 26 potential victims and 97 people potentially involved in child sexual exploitation. But, 16 months later, Augusta had been formally closed.”

The former detective, Maggie Oliver, who resigned over the way cases in Rochdale were handled by the force, said:

“These are not mistakes – I want to make it absolutely clear – these were deliberate acts to bury and ignore the abuse of many, many vulnerable children.“

Child Next Door Report ABC Sunshine Coast The Child Next Door report paints grim picture of exploitation, and trafficking in Queensland reports ABC SUNSHINE COAST yesterday (3/2/2020).The report from a child safety expert has prompted a warning that potentially large numbers of young people could be being exploited by sexual predators in Queensland. To quote the article: “Key points of the report: The authors of a report are calling for changes to Queensland law that could help “disrupt” child exploitation offenders; The Child Next Door report warns child exploitation and trafficking is difficult to monitor, and Police say the nature of the crimes and the ages of the victims can make it difficult to prosecute offenders. “The Child Next Door report, published late last year, relies on information and case studies provided by frontline care staff involved with the region’s Child Sexual Exploitation Working Group, involving welfare agencies and police. “Paul Morton, who works for the organisation that commissioned the report, Integrated Family and Youth Services (IFYS), said it was difficult to know exactly how many young people were being exploited or abused because so many were too frightened to seek support or justice. ‘We’re talking potentially dozens, if not 100 young people that are involved in it,’ he said.”

‘Epidemic of Child Abuse and Neglect’

In an ABC 16 September 2018 article, Rebecca Puddy writes:

“In what has been described as a world-first examination of child protection reports, Australia’s systems are shown to be in meltdown amid unprecedented levels of child abuse and neglect. South Australia’s Department for Child Protection opened its doors to the University of South Australia’s child protection experts, allowing them access to abuse notifications for the first time.

“What seasoned researchers like Fiona Arney found as they dug down into the records shocked them. They showed the state was “facing an absolute crisis”… she found one in four children under the age of 10 are being reported to child protection authorities, and of these children, 90 per cent have multiple reports being made about “incredibly concerning” abuse and neglect. “We don’t have a system that is equipped to meet the demand.” “We are facing an absolute crisis.”

Conclusion

Australian ministers (both state and federal) refuse to become involved in child protection issues. In fact the Child Protection Minister of South Australia seems unable to become involved within her own department, as her powers of guardianship were removed in October 2018 and given to a Chief Executive — possibly in preparation for departmental privatization of the “Child Marketing” industry, presently called “Child Protection.”

Make no mistake, no government department, no Attorney-general, no Ombudsman is prepared to face and confront the “powers” controlling the child industry in Australia. It is totally out of control – and, generally, the mainstream media is reluctant to dip their toe into the cauldron.