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| Child sex abuse survivors attended Parliament House to hear the apology. (Photo: AFP/Sean Davey) |
CANBERRA:
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued a national apology to victims
of child sex abuse in an emotional address to parliament Monday (Oct 22)
acknowledging the state failed to stop "evil dark crimes" committed
over decades.
"This
was done by Australians to Australians, enemies in our midst, enemies in our
midst," Morrison told parliament in a nationally televised address.
"As a
nation, we failed them, we forsook them, and that will always be our
shame," he said, his voice cracking as he recounted abuse that permeated
religious and state-backed institutions.
Decrying
abuse that happened "day after day, week after week, month after month,
year after year, decade after decade" in schools, churches, youth groups,
scout groups, orphanages, sports clubs and family homes, Morrison declared a
new national credo in the face of allegations: "We believe you."
"Today,
we say sorry, to the children we failed. Sorry. To the parents whose trust was
betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces. Sorry. To the
whistleblowers, who we did not listen to. Sorry.
"To
the spouses, partners, wives, husbands, children, who have dealt with the
consequences of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction. Sorry. To generations
past and present. Sorry."
The state
apology comes after a five-year Royal Commission that detailed more than 15,000
survivors' harrowing child sex abuse claims involving thousands of
institutions.
In
parliament, lawmakers stood for a moment of silence following the remarks as
hundreds of survivors looked on or watched in official events across the
country.
Normal
parliamentary business, a session of prime minister's questions, was suspended
in a bipartisan show of respect.
Outside the
parliamentary chamber, relatives of victims wore tags with the names of
departed daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, for whom the apology came
too late.
After
meeting some of the victims, Morrison told journalists "I've never felt
such pain in one room, ever."
A series of
Australian institutions have already apologised for their failings, including
Australian Catholic leaders who have lamented the church's "shameful"
history of child abuse and cover-ups.
According
to the Royal Commission, seven percent of Catholic priests in Australia were
accused of abuse between 1950 and 2010, but the allegations were rarely
investigated, with child victims ignored and even punished.
Some senior
members of the church in Australia have been prosecuted in relation to the
abuse.
POWER OF
APOLOGY
The
Australian government has previously issued formal apologies for the
mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians, for forced adoptions and homosexual
convictions.
There are
growing calls for an apology for the military's treatment of gay, bisexual and
transgender personnel.
For many
Australians there will still be questions about how the child sex abuse and
cover-ups took place.
And for
some of the victims, the government's atonement rings hollow - a step short of
removing public funding for offending institutions, or far-ranging legal
reforms.
At an event
attended by the leaders of both major political parties, protesters shouted
demands that the government do more to punish the guilty and dig into the past
of other institutions like the military.
"Today's
apology to victims of institutional child abuse highlights the power of a
public apology to heal past wounds," said Professor Noah Riseman of the
Australian Catholic University.
"But
in the midst of today's acknowledgement there was a reminder that other victims
of institutional trauma remain unacknowledged."
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