3rd Anniversary of the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Abuse

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered a speech in Parliament to commemorate the third anniversary of the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, acknowledging its importance, the impact on victims and survivors and the need to take action to never let this be repeated.

In his speech, the Prime Minister reported on the progress made against the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, including:

• awarding the contract to establish the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, which will raise awareness of the impact of abuse and increase workforce knowledge in responding to victims and survivors
• the development and upcoming launch of the new National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse (2021-2030), delivering ambitious and world-leading measures to prevent and respond to all forms of child sexual abuse
• the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation’s Operation ARKSTONE, the largest ever domestic investigation into online child sexual abuse, with more than 1,300 charges laid so far
• AUSTRAC’s partnership with financial institutions to detect and disrupt payments for child abuse materials resulting in an almost 400% increase in reports of suspect financial activity around child exploitation since 2018,
• plans for a digital industry summit to be held in 2022, bringing together experts, industry, policy professionals and law enforcement to discuss innovative measures to address online offending
• the construction of a National Memorial for victims and survivors to honour their courage, and provide a reminder of the failures to protect children and prevent them from happening again.

The Australian Government 2021 Annual Progress Report on Implementation of recommendations from the Final Report of the Royal Commission will be tabled in in the coming months, and contain detailed information on the Government’s progress.

If the anniversary or this content brings up strong feelings or raises questions for you, there are many services and support groups available to assist you. 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• 1800 Respect: 1800 737 732
• MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978
• Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800