If you are a rape victim in Australia with an intellectual disability, you are likely to never receive justice if the situation in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales is anything to go by.
In July, South Australian authorities found that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a case because the victim was intellectually disabled and couldn't give coherent evidence. At a special school in South Australia, a number of intellectually disabled students were abused with the abuse covered up by the Police and the school itself.
In 1993, allegations were made about St John of God Brothers in Victoria abusing the intellectually disabled, with Police saying it would be too difficult to lay charges because the victims were intellectually disabled. In other cases, the abuse was covered up by the church with Police never notified.
In 2007, another disabled student was molested by a taxi driver between home and Portland Central School. The student was moved to another school and the taxi driver remains employed while the school, under the direction of Tina Slattery covered it up.
In 2009, a taxi driver who drove students to Carenne Public School was taken off his duties driving intellectually disabled students after it was learned he had molested one boy between home and school. The education department covered it up.
In 2010, the NSW education department claimed in a civil claim that it wasn't responsible for the sex abuse of a student at Carenne Public School for the intellectually disabled by one of its teachers because it could not have foreseen it and that the student was already disabled so it caused him no further harm. The whole incident was covered up by Police, the school and the media. The molester, Anna Blackburn was never charged by Police. This is just one of a number of claims at the school.
Earlier this year, two bus drivers for Carenne Public School were accused of molesting disabled students and physically assaulting them. The education department and police both refused to investigate.
4 comments:
Every disable child should be protected by the NSW Police Force and the NSW DET not have crimes against them cover up .
cheryl chaplin has disable child and she cover up child abuse ,what hope have these kid got? NONE
the general attitude of police towards ID is shocking. They will often not investigate allegations of rape because they don't think the victim can make it through the court process. This is not their job, to decide these things. They also say they can't trust what the victims says, but that is not their job either, their job is to investigate the allegation. Reports on the IDRS website contain examples of police attitude and it is enough to make you sick. One officer even admitted he thought disabled people were overtly sexual and promiscuous, so whose going to believe they were raped? I also suggest reading this report http://www.racgp.org.au/afp/201104/201104eastgate2.pdf it gives a good indication of the current situation , the failure by the government to properly care for people with ID is gobsmacking.
and actually having been exposed to the criminal justice system lately i can safely say that it is geared against people with ID. Magistrates, prosecutors, solicitors, all have no idea about ID, even though many 'offenders' suffer from it. This is why many people with ID end up in jail through no fault of their own and lack of understanding. The injustice is far reaching and almost unfathomable, it turns the notion of australian values on their head, and we should all be ashamed this has gone on for so long.
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