Sexual Abuse as the Core Transgression of Childhood Innocence: Unintended Consequences for Care Leavers

ABSTRACT

The decision of the Gillard government to establish a royal commission in 2012 was acclaimed by care leavers. However, they were soon disillusioned: it was not the royal commission for which they had long struggled. Its terms of reference were too broad, encompassing a range of institutions never before the subject of official inquiries, yet also too narrowly focused on sexual abuse. Care leavers who suffered other forms of abuse were excluded. This paper argues that, while care leaver advocacy contributed to the decision to establish a royal commission, the agenda was a product of other pressures fuelled by state-based inquiries about cover-ups of sexual abuse of children, particularly by clergy. Sexual abuse could no longer be regarded as a sin to be handled in-house by institutions but a crime for which the state carried superordinate responsibility. The government had to intervene to address society’s “ultimate collective shame”. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made a massive contribution to our understanding of child sexual abuse and to reforms in child protection policy and practice. But its mandate created unintended consequences, and questions remain about the unmet needs of care leavers who suffered other forms of abuse.     

“Children in a Terrible State”: Understandings of Trauma and Child Sexual Assault in 1970s and 1980s Australia*

ABSTRACT

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has shown us the multitude of ways that children were vulnerable to sexual violence. This article explores child sexual abuse outside of institutions, and the development of concepts of trauma in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s. From the mid-1970s, there was increased social, medical and legal focus on child abuse. Driven originally by feminists, there was a new interest in the psychological impacts of abuse, including analysis of the grief, despair, fear and anger experienced by survivors. The explosion of interest in child sexual abuse was mainstreamed in the Royal Commission into Human Relationships (1974–1978) and in discussion leading up to the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989). Across the 1980s, public recognition grew concerning the dangers of sexual violence against children, and, in particular, the increased knowledge and interest in intra-familial assaults. This article will chart the dramatic shifts in public consciousness around sexual abuse, particularly around ideas of harm and trauma. It will also suggest that despite a substantial change in cultural views on sexual assault, improvements for child victims were slow to filter through to the criminal justice system.     

“Soul Murder”: Investigating Spiritual Trauma at the Royal Commission

ABSTRACT

During its five-year tenure, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse established that faith organisations, with inadequate practices of organisational transparency and accountability, hierarchical structures of power, and patriarchal cultures, have poor track records in child protection and high levels of child abuse. Evidence from the Royal Commission hearings identified spiritual trauma as an outcome of child sexual abuse across several religious organisations including the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Salvation Army, the Yeshiva Jewish School in Melbourne and Sydney and the Satyananda Ashram in NSW. The Catholic Church had the highest levels of institutional child sexual assault and was the site of most of the narratives of spiritual suffering. This article examines existing research on spiritual trauma with regard to child sexual abuse, applies a five-point classification model developed by Kenneth Pargament and colleagues for identifying and analysing spiritual damage, and examines the evidence from both survivors and expert witnesses that was heard during relevant public hearings involving the Catholic Church at the Royal Commission. Institutional responses to spiritual injury will be considered and it will be argued that the Catholic Church is a distinctive institution that has produced a powerful culture of spiritual identity and belonging, where the impact of child sexual abuse has resulted in a loss of faith for many survivors, families and communities.     

论加强公安特色监督理论、监督机制与监督体系建设——学习祝春林同志新时期公安特色监督工作讲话的感想

由于公安机关的性质、权力、职责等均不同于一般的行政机关,因此,其监督工作必须突出公安特色。我们应根据祝春林同志关于新时期公安特色监督工作的一系列讲话精神,加强公安特色监督理论建设,建立有效的公安特色监督机制,加强公安特色监督体系建设,从而有效实现公安监督工作整体效果的最优化。     

虚开用于骗取出口退税、抵扣税款发票罪认定的有关问题

“金税工程”全国联网以后,虚开增值税专用发票犯罪得以有效控制,虚开用于骗取出口退税、抵扣税款的其他发票犯罪却迅速蔓延开来。司法实践中,认定虚开用于骗取出口退税、抵扣税款发票犯罪的事实,必须注意三个方面的问题:首先应当界定出口退税、抵扣税款的其他发票的范围;其次认定是否存在虚开行为;第三,正确认定虚开用于骗取出口退税、抵扣税款发票犯罪的后果。     

论议会调查权的配置与限定

调查权是议会监督职能的重要方式，议会监督职能强化的一个重要方面就是议会调查权的扩张，监督“监督权”应成为宪政研究不可忽视的问题。从宪政原理及各国议会立法文本分析，议会调查权力配置及规范应遵循民主制衡、法治原则、分权原则、人权原则以及比例原则。具体包括：调查权应受到议会民主控制；调查成员组成应体现议会民意基础，多数党成员应占优势；调查权限应由宪法或立法明文设定；调查权应保持充分克制，体现谦抑性原则。调查权配置及限制也与各国（地区）的政治制度、文化传统密切相关，必须结合这些因素理性客观对待。     

A Principles‐based Approach to the Barnett Formula1

This essay argues that the Barnett formula—which determines the block grant paid annually by the UK government to each of the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—be reformulated, guided by the following principles: fiscal equity, accountability, transparency, and flexibility. The rationale for change is that the current fiscal arrangements make little policy sense and may not be sustainable in a changing political and economic context. The formation of a grants commission to help develop data, calculate disparities, and provide public advice to the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also advocated.     

The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission: Lessons for the Conduct of Inquiries in Australia

Royal commissions with their wide powers, independence and uncertain outcomes are adopted sparingly by government. Hence, those charged with establishing such an inquiry are often left to begin anew. The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (VBRC) provides a means of exploring lessons for public administration in light of its inquiry approach and internal operation. Similarly, recent reports on the conduct of statutory inquiries provide the opportunity to examine good practice. This article explores the central issue of what mode of inquiry is suited for particular circumstances. It characterises three different types of inquiry and analyses their features. The author provides participant observer insights from the VBRC and reflects on lessons learned.     

Intergovernmental transfers and fiscal equalization across the north-eastern states of India: Evidence from panel data

While numerous studies have tried to analyze the impact of intergovernmental transfers in fostering fiscal equalization in India, there need to be more studies in the context of north-eastern (NE) states. Situating in a geographically isolated and economically backward region, the states of NE India depend heavily on central fiscal transfers to meet expenditures and to promote various economic activities in the region. One of the essential objectives of these transfers is to achieve fiscal equity. Hence, the study attempts to analyze the fiscal equalizing nature of the intergovernmental transfers across NE India during 1991–2019. The coefficient of variation (CV) analysis results indicates that although fiscal transfers reduced the magnitude of disparity in the own-source revenue across the NE states, a significant amount of disparity still exists in the resource base across these states. The regression analysis findings suggest that the transfers across these states need to be more fiscal equalizing. The per capita gross state domestic product emerges as a positive and significant in predicting per capita transfers, and hence it questions the progressivity of central transfers. When assigning the interstate share of transfers, more weight should be placed on fiscal equalizing factors such as per capita income. The Finance Commission of India should emphasize fiscal equalizing criteria when allocating weights and recommending transfers to the NE States. Additionally, states with low incomes should be recognized in plan schemes.     

论股份有限公司独立监事制度的构建

我国股份有限公司监事会存在构造缺陷。无论是股东监事,还是职工监事,都难以保持独立性和充分发挥监督职能,需要引入独立监事以改造监事会。独立监事制度以权利的独立与制衡为理论基础,其制度构建从根本上保证监事会的独立性和客观性,有利于完善监事会的监督机制、有利于完善公司的治理结构、有利于保护中小股东的利益。加强股份有限公司的监督,是一个复杂的系统工程,独立监事制度能够在其中发挥相当的作用,但如将全部希望寄托于它的身上,是不现实的。