Submission to Royal Commission: Child sexual abuse in out-of-home care

This 2016 submission is the APS response to the Royal Commission’s Consultation Paper on institutional responses to child sexual abuse in out-of-home care (OOHC), and is further to the APS’ original 2013 submission in response to Issues Paper 4 (Preventing sexual abuse of children in OOHC).

The APS has previously highlighted that optimal child development requires a safe and supportive physical, social and psychological environment.

The submission states that children in OOHC are among the most vulnerable in the community and the APS believes society has an obligation to protect children and young people from harm. In relation to the prevention of child sexual abuse, the APS supports a holistic approach that delivers preventive actions at multiple levels that can target the individual child, parent, family and perpetrator, as well as institutions and the broader social environment.

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