A new study finds many LGBTIQA+SB Australians have experienced sexual violence, and we need a more targeted and informed approach to dealing with it.
- Professor of Criminology, UNSW
A new study shows the impacts of child sex abuse material on the families of offenders - who are described as ‘secondary victims’.
The media often reflects personal and professional biases and community misunderstandings about trauma.
A study of child sexual abuse material survivors found 42% were abused by their father or stepfather, meaning abuse prevention and education services can’t assume all parents protect children in their care.
By placing institutional abuse within its larger context, the royal commission has made the prevention and identification of child sex offending a collective responsibility.
Dissociative identity disorder - previously known as multiple personality disorder - occurs when a child’s development is disrupted by trauma, preventing them forming a strong sense of self.
Reporting child sexual abuse to police, and any subsequent investigation or trial, is a time of profound instability for victims and their families.
The once-taboo topics of domestic violence and institutional abuse are now front-page news, but repeated reports of incest have not registered in public awareness as evidence of a serious problem.
Many factors are at play in enabling or constraining a child to speak directly about abuse and bringing that complaint to the attention of the authorities.
Cardinal George Pell’s appearance at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will do little to rehabilitate his image in the eyes of clergy abuse victims. Via video link…
On Monday, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its interim report, detailing for the first time the full scope and comprehensiveness of its inquiry into institutional…
Last week, Woody Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow published an open letter in The New York Times accusing him of child sexual abuse. These allegations were first aired in the early 1990s in the context…
Long before the advent of the internet, the Philippines was a prime destination for Western child sex tourists. The US military presence in the country during and following the Vietnam War fuelled a demand…
The arrest of 348 suspected members of a child pornography network has garnered headlines around the world, especially in countries where mass arrests have been made. In Australia, the Federal Police have…
Before the election, Tony Abbott reaffirmed the Coalition’s commitment to purchasing unmanned “drone” aircraft for military use, but he emphasised the need to review their efficacy and cost effectiveness…
Child sexual abuse is a topic of extremes. We are never short of politicians and journalists keen to voice their disgust at offenders and their sympathy with victims. But substantive responses are few…
Sexting is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Multiple incidents of teenagers circulating explicit images of other teenagers are under investigation in Victoria. It has emerged that Queensland…
The Federal Government today released the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses Child Sexual Abuse in Australia. The Royal Commission, announced in November last year…
A woman hacks her ex-boyfriend’s Facebook account to post a picture of herself in hospital after he attacked her with a baseball bat. A teenager protests against the lenient sentence given to her rapists…
Alarm was raised this week when it emerged that Bernard McGrath, a former Catholic brother sought in Australia over 252 child sex charges, was able to leave New Zealand for Sri Lanka ahead of an extradition…
There has been a great deal of focus on the role of a Royal Commission in delivering “justice” for victims of sexual abuse. Justice is a powerful, symbolic principle, and being listened to can be a moving…
For victims and their advocates, the Prime Minister’s announcement of a Royal Commission into the role of institutions in the abuse of children represents a long-awaited shift in the way Australia approaches…
In Britain, the sexual abuse allegations against television personality Jimmy Savile have now implicated glam rocker Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr. Police have intimated that other high-profile…
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