Northern beaches: Man sexually abused in sport facility as a child inspires council policy
A man who was a victim to child abuse at a Northern Beaches Council facility more than 40 years ago has inspired the adoption of a child safeguarding policy.
Manly
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A man who was a victim of child grooming and sex abuse at a council facility in the 1970s has inspired the council to develop a child protection policy.
The victim, who will remain anonymous, approached the council in December last year and called for action to prevent further child abuse incidents from happening in the future.
Councillors Sarah Grattan and Kylie Ferguson advocated for a council policy which has been developed and is now on public exhibition.
According to the council’s website, the policy provides “a set of overarching practices aligned to the Child Safe Standards that demonstrates council’s commitment to child safety”.
It means “all allegations and safety concerns will be treated seriously” with the policy applying to all staff including interns, volunteers and contractors “irrespective of whether or not they have direct contact with children and young people”.
It also states council staff will receive training.
While the victim thanked councillors for their hard work he said it seemed like a “lazy attempt”.
“I was hoping that incidents like what happened to me might help to make venues safer but I think this policy misses the mark. It focuses on Northern Beaches Council staff but it doesn’t touch on hirers of council facilities,” the victim said.
“What they could have done in these seven months since we first spoke was an audit of situations where children come in contact with council activities and to develop a policy where ground level questions can be answered.”
The victim told the Manly Daily he was groomed by a youth leader over a horrifying 18 month period which began when he was about 10.
He said it happened when he was learning gymnastics. The offender was about 17 years old when he started the abuse.
It wasn’t until he was an adult that he sought psychological help and in 2017 he reported the crime to police who were able to track down his offender.
Just two weeks ago the accused pleaded guilty in Downing Centre and was sentenced to a period of three years behind bars.
The victim said while he never received an apology from his abuser or the council, he got the next best thing.
“I feel extremely lucky because I waited over 40 year before I reported it and it has led to a conviction.
“I would like to give the council a bit more of an opportunity, what I would like is for the council to recognise that there are things they can do to make it safer for children.
“I think that’s the acknowledgment I would like because it can make a practical difference for the future”.
He said two good examples of policies were from the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian and Surf Life Saving Australia.
“An example is if someone at the surf club needs to get children home, there’s a procedure. It’s what the northern beaches council don’t have.
“It shows the material is out there to have good policy and procedures and it just means organisations need to follow through.”
He said organisations shouldn’t rely on Working With Children checks.
“The checks by themselves are really very weak. It’s something that can help but any organisation that relies on police checks are just kidding themselves.
“Looking at my case, he was such a young offender he wouldn’t have had any contact with the police in the past anyway.
“We can’t make the assumption the only threat to children is from adults”.
The council’s chief executive Ray Brownlee said feedback was sought from the NSW Office of Children’s Guardian over the draft policy.
“The policy was developed by reviewing similar policies of peak bodies and other local government organisations across the country and resources developed by the NSW Office of Children’s Guardian and the Human Rights Commission,” Mr Brownlee said.
“Council staff will be trained using resources from the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian. They are currently developing resources and online training modules to support people who work with children.”
Cr Grattan said she was proud of the council’s progress.
“We had some child protection policies which is specific for child services and for facilities like swimming pools but we didn’t have was an overarching policy for the whole of council,” Cr Grattan said.
“We’re one of the first council’s to bring this together which is much broader rather than just worrying if they’re going to be safe at the swimming pool for example.
“So this enables frameworks and facilities for children to support things and to be taken seriously. It’s really quite groundbreaking.”