Opposition Leader Peter Dutton continues to push to introduce a publicly accessible national child sexual offender register in Australia – which could include names, postcodes and photos of offenders.
Ahead of the Federal election on May 3, it’s important to highlight the evidence that shows a public register won’t keep our kids safer from opportunistic offenders, and could even do more harm than good.
What’s happening in Australia
In 2001, Australia introduced a retrospective sex offender register that police can access, however we do not currently have a national public register.
Under Peter Dutton’s proposed American-style plan however, information could make postcodes, names, and even photos of offenders available to the public.
It is a common myth that a public register could prevent the abhorrent crime of abuse against children.
While people think they have a right to know, there’s not much you can do with that power and the false sense of security could actually lead to more risk.
I was recently asked if Daniel Morcombe’s parents had known that man lived in their community, whether they wouldn’t have let him catch the bus. The problem with that is, this is not Daniel’s fault, or his parents fault – it is Brett Cowan’s fault.
These terrible things do happen, they shake us to our core and they make the news primarily because they happen so rarely. What we should not do is write legislation with those cases in mind because we’re writing laws for the exception.
So, what can we do?
There are more facts Australia could equip our nurses, doctors, parents, teachers, allied health professionals and those in our communities with to ensure they know key information, including where best to refer people and how to spot the signs.
There is a lot we can do for prevention, rather than picking up the pieces when it’s too late. A national public register won’t make kids safer.
Australia can and should benefit from the 25 years of legislative experimenting in the US. We know from the US that a register hasn’t worked and, for example, if Brett Peter Cowan was on a register, it would not have made a difference.
It is vital to remember the majority of abuse is committed by people within children’s circles of trust, not strangers.
If we consider that, the identification of the offenders would almost certainly identify their families and children.
The most important thing for prevention is education and awareness, we need to acknowledge that almost all sexual abuse is preventable and the majority occurs at the hands of the people we know.
If we can empower children to speak up about their experiences, teach children the correct anatomical words for their body parts to give them language so that if something happens, they know how to talk about it in a way that’s believed by adults.
One of the most common questions I am asked is whether I would want to know if an offender was living on my street.
Knowing what I know about the number of cases that go unreported, I behave as if there are probably three on my street.
The recent proposal has said they don’t want to do a US version with specific street addresses, but a postcode.
The postcode is supposed to be a compromise but it’s utterly useless. If we go on the stats, that tell us 3-5% of men self-report a sexual predilection for children, then there are 375 in my area alone and we only know the people we know about, too.
Protecting Australia’s children is everyone’s responsibility
You don’t need to be a parent to be committed to the protection of child sexual abuse, and you also don’t need to be a parent to be committed to child safety.
A register would not work and it only provides the perception of safety and security for the community.
We should focus more on prevention, and communication is the key. One case of child abuse is one too many and it’s up to all of us to protect our children using the best, most proven methods we have.
If I can teach my daughter that she can speak up if she feels uncomfortable, and it’s her body, her rules – that’s what’s needed. I want her to be aware that if anybody makes her uncomfortable, if they try to isolate her or buy her extravagant gifts, those are the kinds of things we need to look out for.
For more on Griffith University’s criminology research, visit Griffith Criminology Institute or visit Welcome to Bravehearts for more child safety advice.
