Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given a national apology to victims of child sexual abuse.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people gathered in Canberra on Monday to hear Mr Morrison deliver the emotional address in parliament.<\/p>\n
It follows a five-year inquiry which found tens of thousands of children had suffered abuse in the nation’s institutions over decades.<\/p>\n
“Today, we finally acknowledge and confront the lost screams of our children,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We must be so humble to fall before those who were forsaken and beg to them our apology.”<\/p>\n
The inquiry, which concluded last December, heard more than 8,000 testimonies from victims about abuse in organisations such as churches, schools and sports clubs.<\/p>\n
With his voice trembling at times, Mr Morrison acknowledged the suffering of victims and condemned institutional failures.<\/p>\n
“Why were the cries of children and parents ignored? Why was our system of justice blind to injustice? Why has it taken so long to act?” he said.<\/p>\n
Survivors shed tears and held hands as the apology was given, but some later expressed frustration at the government’s wider response to the inquiry.<\/p>\n
“As one survivor recently said to me: ‘It wasn’t a foreign enemy who did this to us. This was done by Australians to Australians, enemies in our midst, enemies in our midst.’<\/p>\n
The enemies of innocence.<\/p>\n
It happened day after day, week after week, month after month, decade after decade, unrelenting torment.<\/p>\n
When a child spoke up, they weren’t believed and the crimes continued with impunity.<\/p>\n
One survivor told me that when he told a teacher of his abuse, that teacher then became his next abuser: trust broken, innocence betrayed, power and position exploited for evil, dark crimes.”<\/p>\n
Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten told parliament: “There are wrongs that cannot be made right. But know that today, Australia says sorry.”<\/p>\n
The parliament later stood for a minute of silence.<\/p>\n
Victims and their supporters travelled from around the nation to hear the apology in Canberra.<\/p>\n
“They are coming with very heavy hearts,” said Leonie Sheedy, the chief executive of Care Leavers Australasia Network.<\/p>\n
“It is a wonderful thing our country’s apologising, but there is so much more work to be done.”<\/p>\n
One survivor told the BBC: “For me it gave me a lot of comfort to hear [the apology]. At least we lived long enough to hear it.”<\/p>\n
Many survivors have criticised the government’s response to the inquiry – especially its terms for a national compensation scheme.<\/p>\n
Victims are eligible for payments of up to A$150,000 (\u00a380,000; $106,000) each.\u00a0Some say the compensation is not enough, and onerous to obtain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mr Morrison said the government had accepted most recommendations from the inquiry, but it was still considering the remaining proposals.<\/p>\n Those not yet adopted include recommendations where federal and state responsibilities overlap. The most contentious is a proposal to make reporting abuse mandatory.<\/p>\n In August,\u00a0the Catholic Church formally rejected that call<\/a>\u00a0– meaning it will not force priests to break confession rules.<\/p>\n On Monday, Mr Morrison committed to establishing a museum of remembrance to memorialise victims’ stories.<\/p>\n In their final report, the commissioners said: “It is not a case of a few ‘rotten apples’. Society’s major institutions have seriously failed.”<\/p>\n They said over 15,000 people had contacted the inquiry, raising allegations against more than 4,000 institutions.<\/p>\n Religious ministers and school teachers were the most commonly reported perpetrators. The greatest number were in Catholic institutions.<\/p>\n All states and territories, and many institutions, have since signed up to the federal government-led compensation scheme.<\/p>\n Hywel Griffith, BBC News in Canberra<\/strong><\/p>\n Deep in symbolism, decades overdue – the word “sorry” can mean so much and yet change so little.<\/p>\n For many, the apology brings recognition of their pain, suffering and anger. But inevitably, for thousands of others who have died – many through suicide – it has all come far too late.<\/p>\n Many of those gathered in Canberra tell me the real test of the government’s sincerity will be in how it responds to the remaining recommendations.<\/p>\n While the apology carries real weight, many survivors want greater action.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many not alive to hear apology<\/h2>\n