By Amanda Murthy
A six year inquiry by the Royal Commission (2012 to 2017) into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse revealed that the Catholic Church was in fact the biggest contributor to sexual abuse in the country, at the time.
Confronted by the facts, the immediate response from the Archdiocese of Perth led to the development and formation of the world’s first Safeguarding Project in 2015.
“My goal is to see Catholic Parishes being the safest places possible for children,” said Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, at the launch of the Safeguarding Project.
“The perception at the moment is that this is not the case.”
Since then, the Safeguarding Office, under the direction of former Police Officer Andrea Musulin, have worked tirelessly to develop policies, procedures, processes and guidelines while engaging with the community to address the issue at hand.
A Safeguarding Breakfast held annually during Child Protection Week (1 to 7 September) became one of the avenues to engage with the children, their parents and the wider community.
With the support of government leaders and backing from Catholic schools, agencies, clergy, parents and students who attend the breakfast yearly to present, dialogue, and partake in the cause (and through competitions organised for the students to lend their voice and play their part) – the Archdiocese of Perth continues to expand their efforts, with the fundamental approach, that collaboration is key.
Standing up to do what’s right
Speaking to The Record, Mrs Musulin spoke about the journey she has undertaken over the past five years: highlighting huge impact the Safeguarding Project has had locally, nationally and now internationally.
“Perth is definitely taking the lead – through the resource that we have developed, and taking a fundamental proactive approach by educating children and valuing parents in this role – This is what sets us apart from the rest of the country.
“No stone is left unturned in relation to what we are doing, and while there is no fool-proof system to protecting children and vulnerable adults, we don’t want to be told that we are negligent and we want to do the best we can to be the solution to the problem,” she added.
It is everybody’s business to care
The implementation of Safeguarding Officers in parishes across the Diocese plays a vital role. Today there are about 250 trained Safeguarding Officers.
Ms Musulin describes why the role of a Safeguarding Officer in a parish is vital.
“Our Safeguarding Officers are the conduit between the Parish Priests and our office for safeguarding matters,” she said.
“They support the Parish Priest in matters that concern safeguarding – by giving him an added resource and extra person (trained officer) to aid him with these matters.
“Besides this, the parish community can learn more on how they can play a part, with our parent workshops that we host at parishes upon requests.
“Also, with every opportunity we get, we work with the Catholic Education Child Safe Team at our Catholic Schools to increase awareness and education for the students,” she added.
Catholic Education Western Australia Executive Director Dr Debra Sayce expressed in her speech at the 2019 Safeguarding Breakfast that it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure the safety of children is protected.
“Protecting children is not just the work of statutory services – It is part of everyone’s business who works and is engaged with children and their families,” she said.
Flourishing as a community
Mrs Musulin cited the Archdiocese continues to work hard in the area of Safeguarding, playing a significant role in the upcoming Australian Catholic Youth Festival.
“We will have Safeguarding Officers present throughout the Festival as part of our contribution, and a new handbook dedicated to young adults aged 18 to 25 years old will officially be launched at the festival,” she added.
When asked about the vision for the Safeguarding initiative in the near future, Mrs Musulin said the hope is that the resources will be used as part of the Catholic education system – whether in a Catholic home, or school or Parish.
“The idea is to use the materials at every stage of the child’s growth from the age of six until they are a young adult (upcoming handbook).
“The consistency of these messages are important because, when the child grows up with that, they then have the organic skills to then eventually impart that knowledge in their own children – and that’s the big picture.
“It becomes a life skill that they are able to prevent or to act accordingly if something bad was to occur to them, rather than to suffer in silence,” Mrs Musulin concluded.
From pages 22 to 23 of Issue 22: ‘The Church in Perth’ of The Record Magazine