Overview

The Terms of Reference for the Board of Inquiry required examination of experiences of child sexual abuse reported to have occurred at Beaumaris Primary School in the 1960s and 1970s, and at certain other government schools in Victoria from the 1960s to the end of 1999.¹

While the work of the Board of Inquiry was not limited to Beaumaris Primary School in the 1960s and 1970s, and extended to certain other government schools through to the end of 1999, most of the victim-survivors who came forward reported child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School in the 1960s and 1970s. Accordingly, much of the Board of Inquiry’s work focused on this period.

It was, in many ways, a very different time. Laws and policies designed to safeguard children’s rights and safety were far less sophisticated than they are today. Significant trust was placed in institutions and people in authority to keep children safe and act in their best interests. Despite child sexual abuse being acknowledged as legally and morally wrong, it was under-estimated and neglected by governments, which saw it as a policy problem. This, in turn, affected the quality of laws concerning child sexual abuse, and compromised protection of children and support for victim-survivors. Its prevalence was largely concealed by denial, a lack of understanding and shame.

Children were far less empowered than they are today. They were expected to be obedient and deferential to adults around them, to stay out of trouble and to avoid creating problems for their families. Child sexual abuse was a taboo subject. Children were not taught about their right to bodily autonomy and what to do if they were harmed or felt unsafe. Social norms that promoted rigid gender roles, tolerated homophobia and discrimination, and reflected misconceptions about children’s reliability also worked to enforce their silence or to downplay or dismiss disclosures when they were made. By contrast, perpetrators who were liked and respected in the community, particularly if they occupied trusted positions, often carried great power and influence, which further discouraged victims from speaking up.

This Part begins by outlining important historical context needed to understand how laws, policies, social norms and community attitudes shaped how child sexual abuse was understood and addressed, primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. It begins by outlining relevant laws and government policies, and describes the child protection and criminal justice systems at the time. It then explores broader social and political forces that dominated this period — flowing from global trends through to the local level. Importantly, it describes some particular norms and attitudes that contributed to how child sexual abuse was viewed and addressed.

This context is offered not to excuse child sexual abuse or poor responses to it. It is included to help illustrate the very real barriers children faced at the time of their sexual abuse. It reminds us of the many factors that would have affected their ability to recognise and report their sexual abuse in a society that largely denied them a voice, was sceptical of the reliability of their disclosures, and wrongly attributed blame and shame to them rather than to perpetrators.

There have been significant shifts in awareness of and action in response to child sexual abuse since the 1960s and 1970s, but many challenges associated with preventing and responding to child sexual abuse are enduring. While some of the attitudes and practices described in this Part are difficult to comprehend by today’s standards, the insidious nature of child sexual abuse and its devastating impacts remain the same. It is a reminder that although much has improved, there is still more work to be done.

This Part then goes on to share the recollections of victim-survivors who came forward, not only in relation to their experience of sexual abuse as a child, but also as to how their experience affected them at different stages of their lives. Relevant literature and expert evidence are included to demonstrate how these recollections are consistent with what is now known and understood about child sexual abuse, and to explain how the effects of sexual abuse can be more broadly felt — by other individuals, communities and society.

The Part has five chapters:

• Chapter 5, Children’s rights and safety in context(opens in a new window), provides a brief overview of the key laws and policies concerning children’s rights and safety and the protection of children against sexual abuse, and outlines relevant features of the child protection and criminal justice systems during the 1960s and 1970s. It also addresses the extent to which the education system recognised and guarded against the risk of sexual abuse of students by teachers.
• Chapter 6, Time and place(opens in a new window), considers how the broader social context in this period influenced attitudes towards children and understandings of child sexual abuse, explaining the dominant norms and attitudes that shaped how child sexual abuse was understood and responded to.
• Chapter 7, Experiences of sexual abuse and its impact on their childhood(opens in a new window), details the experiences of victim-survivors of child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School and certain other government schools, drawing on their recollections of the sexual abuse, their immediate reactions to it and how it affected them during their childhood and adolescence.
• Chapter 8, Enduring impacts of child sexual abuse, explains the longer-term impacts of the child sexual abuse. It also explains the secondary impacts felt over time by families and friends of victim-survivors (described as ‘secondary victims’ in this report), affected communities and society.
• Chapter 9, Personal stories, details, in their own words, victim-survivors’ and secondary victims’ personal experiences of child sexual abuse, as shared directly with the Board of Inquiry.

Notes to readers

Experiences of victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected community members

Throughout this report, the Board of Inquiry shares information that reflects some of the experiences that victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected community members shared with the Board of Inquiry.

The Board of Inquiry is deeply grateful to the victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected community members who so courageously shared their experiences of child sexual abuse. The Board of Inquiry also acknowledges those victim-survivors who have chosen not to disclose their experiences of child sexual abuse, and may never do so, including those who are no longer with us.

The Board of Inquiry asked people who engaged with it how they wanted their information to be managed. Some wished to share their experiences publicly. Some wished to do so anonymously and others wished to do so confidentially. Where people shared their experiences anonymously, the Board of Inquiry has not included any identifying information in this report. Where people shared their experiences confidentially, the Board of Inquiry used this information to inform its work, but has not included it in this report.

In relation to those who wished to share their experiences publicly, in some cases the Board of Inquiry determined that it should anonymise the information they shared. This decision was made for legal or related reasons, including in order to avoid causing prejudice to any current or future criminal or civil proceedings.

The Board of Inquiry shares the experiences of victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected community members to create an important public record of their recollections. However, the Board of Inquiry has not examined or tested these accounts for accuracy or weighed whether there is enough evidence to support criminal or civil proceedings. The approach the Board of Inquiry has taken in this regard is consistent with its objectives and its Terms of Reference.²

The Board of Inquiry expresses its immense gratitude to all who contributed, in any way, to its work. Those who shared their experiences have shaped the Board of Inquiry’s general findings and recommendations, and contributed to a shared understanding, among all Victorians, of the impact of child sexual abuse. The Board of Inquiry expects this report will reinforce the community’s commitment to better protect children from harm and sexual abuse into the future.

Relevant employees

In the Terms of Reference, ‘relevant employee’ is defined to mean ‘a teacher or other government school employee or contractor who sexually abused a student at Beaumaris Primary School during the 1960s or 1970s’.³ The Board of Inquiry’s work has confirmed that several of these relevant employees have been convicted of multiple offences, including indecent assault and other offences against children. However, for various reasons, most of the experiences of child sexual abuse shared with the Board of Inquiry did not result (or have not yet resulted) in a criminal conviction. Accordingly, this Part refers to ‘alleged perpetrators’.

While the Board of Inquiry recognises that some of these alleged perpetrators have been convicted of offences and their child sexual abuse in relation to these offences is no longer ‘alleged’, in order to treat all experiences shared with the Board of Inquiry in the same way, and to avoid causing prejudice to any current or future criminal or civil proceedings, this Part still refers to them as ‘alleged perpetrators’. In doing so, the Board of Inquiry does not intend to devalue or minimise any of the experiences shared by victim-survivors, secondary victims or affected community members.