We built a playground for perpetrators: Here’s how to stop them

This article contains references to child sexual abuse, which may be distressing for some readers. Please read with care and prioritise your wellbeing. Resources for support are provided at the end of the article.

 

Yet more allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia’s early childhood education and care services have surfaced. ABC’s Four Corners investigative journalists, led by Adele Ferguson, uncovered more shocking allegations after previous charges were laid against several educators. While we all want these stories to go away (because that would mean our children are safe), nobody wants them to disappear more than the perpetrators. That’s because child abuse thrives in environments where people are naïve, secrets are kept, and ignorance and neglect are built into our systems.

 

ABC’s Four Corners team discovered that the rate of abuse in early education is increasing. In the last 10 years, almost 150 educators were convicted, charged, or had accusations levelled against them for inappropriate conduct or child sexual abuse. Forty-two people have been convicted, with half of those in the last five years. Another 14 are involved in current court cases.

 

How did we get here?

 

We have an early learning system that costs taxpayers $22 billion a year. So, how have we built a system that is a fertile playground for perpetrators, where three reports of child abuse occurs each working day?

 

Predators thrive in environments that provide particular conditions. These include naivety, secrecy, neglect and ignorance as shown in the diagram below.

 

 

Let’s have a look at each of those elements in turn and explore some ways to break these conditions.

 

Breaking naivety

 

When people do not understand what grooming is or how it works, they are unable to spot it. In the past, we have not taught parents, educators, and community members how to spot predatory grooming.

 

Sexual grooming is an illegal activity. You do not have to wait for a child to be harmed in order to report a predator. Grooming is a crime.

 

Perpetrators groom the child, family members, colleagues and community members. They make themselves available, helpful, fun, understanding, and key to supporting the child. As master manipulators, they are often model employees and everyone’s favourite.

 

The perpetrator will generally target children who want attention because they are lonely, feeling left out, or ignored. They will become the child’s special friend, and the child will seek them out because they will make the child feel very special.

 

They tell the child they are their favourite, showering them with compliments, special gifts and favours, and sharing special secrets with them. This means the child spends less time with their friends and other adults as they become more emotionally tied to the perpetrator.

 

After winning the child’s trust, the perpetrator starts to create wedges between the child and the person they fear the child might tell. To do this, they might slowly destroy the child’s trust in the other person (i.e. their parent, friend, or another educator). This might be as simple as pointing out to the child when the person broke a promise. The perpetrator might also tell the child they will not be believed if they speak out.

 

Breaking secrecy

 

Perpetrators convince children to keep secrets as they start their abuse. To do this, they often try to solicit a secret from the child, such as a past wrongdoing. The perpetrator will threaten to use it against the child if they reveal the abuse. Also, the perpetrator might threaten to harm the child or someone the child loves.

 

We need to teach children the difference between a surprise (such as a birthday party) and a secret. They need to know that we do not keep secrets from each other. Children need to understand what a threat is and that we report threats. Children also need to know the names of body parts so they have the language to report what they experience or witness.

 

Secrecy also involves other adults ignoring the warning signs. This might be an educator or parent who doesn’t want to make waves or get in trouble for reporting something if it turns out their suspicions were unfounded. This can also include educators who are worried about losing their jobs, especially casual employees with little power.

 

Also, families in regional, rural and remote areas, and many low-income suburbs are part of childcare deserts. This is where three or more families are competing for one space. This means these parents might be desperate to keep their place, not making complaints unless they are sure there is something wrong.

 

Breaking neglect

 

Our current systems have allowed services to neglect child supervision and safety. This has happened due to low staff-to-child ratios and doctored under-the-roof ratios that count other staff in the ratios (even if they are not supervising children). This has been fueled by profit margins, rather than making children’s education and care a priority.

 

We need reforms in this area to ensure there is enough staff and the penalties are harsh enough that services will not risk getting caught with inadequate supervision. To oversee these reforms and ensure children’s safety, a national childcare commission is needed, as recommended by theProductivity Commission.

 

Additionally, we need a justice system that does not silence children’s voices. The vast majority (84%) of children’s sexual abuse goes unreported, as it is too difficult for a child to give the type of evidence that is required. Our justice systems are made for adults and can retraumatise children.

 

Breaking ignorance

 

Ignorance shows up in myths about perpetrators, such as saying they are mentally ill. Child abusers do not have a mental illness. Perpetrators often have an alarming number of children that they groom at the same time, as not all children they groom will go on to experience sexual abuse. They keep their options open, despite telling the child they are ‘special’.

 

Another myth is that perpetrators cannot help themselves as they are attracted to children. It is not a crime to desire something. But if they act on that desire by breaking the law, that is a crime. Abusing children is a crime.

 

A prevalent myth is that perpetrators were sexually abused as children. Perpetrators are likely to have been exposed to domestic violence or pornography, but unlikely to have been sexually abused as children. There is also a myth that perpetrators are only men. However, they can be women, although this is less common.

 

As a society, we have also been ignorant, thinking that our state and territory based regulatory systems, such as Working With Children Checks, were fit for purpose. They are inadequate and allow staff to move between jurisdictions. The ABC Four Corners investigation found that many checks were expired or missing.

 

We have also been ignorant as to how understaffed these state and territory based regulators are. This has meant:

 

• services have not been inspected regularly, with fewer spot checks;
• slow and inadequate responses to breaches
• inadequate focus on for-profit services, where the majority of breaches occur; and
• for profit services being allowed to start new services despite outstanding breaches.     

 

We have also not understood how perpetrators support each other, offering tips on how to infiltrate and abuse without getting caught. They are emboldened when the rules are not enforced.

 

Where to from here?

 

Educators and parents will need major reform to have faith in the system again, and break naivety, secrecy, neglect and ignorance. While any improvement is helpful, tinkering around the edges is not going to solve the problems. Our children deserve to be safe, and parents deserve to go to work knowing their child is safe while they are attending quality early learning services.

 

If this article has raised distressing issues for you, please contact:

 

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
• Bravehearts: 1800 272 831
• Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
• Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380
• Australian Childhood Foundation: 1300 381 581
• National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service: 1800 RESPECT, 1800 737 732

 

Marg Rogers is a senior lecturer in early childhood education at UNE and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Manna Institute.

 

This article was originally published on EduResearch Matters.