CRC/C/AUS/CO/5-6

Australia (CRC 01-11-2019)

The Committee considered the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Australia (CRC/C/AUS/5-6) at its 2402nd and 2403rd meetings (see CRC/C/SR.2402 and 2403), held on 9 and 10 of September 2019, and adopted the present concluding observations at its 2430th meeting, held on 27 September 2019.

Concluding observations

E. Violence against children (arts. 19, 24 (3), 28 (2), 34, 37 (a) and 39)

Violence, including sexual violence, abuse and neglect

29. The Committee welcomes the creation in 2018 of the National Office for Child Safety; the financial commitment made in March 2019 towards the establishment of the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse; the adoption of the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020; the adoption of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022; the report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse of December 2017; and the Prime Minister’s National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse on 22 October 2018. However, the Committee remains seriously concerned:

(a) About the high rates of violence against children in the home, the fact that the third action plan under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 focuses on young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years when violence affects children of all ages and the fact that girls between the ages of 10 and 19 years suffer the highest rate of sexual abuse, an increasing amount of which is perpetrated by their partners;

(b) That the National Redress Scheme, which was set up for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse, excludes some groups of victims, such as non-citizens and non-permanent residents, persons sentenced to five years of imprisonment or longer and children who were under 8 years of age in 2018;

(c) That victims and survivors of abuse committed by religious personnel of the Catholic Church who participated in two internal church processes – “Towards healing” and “The Melbourne response” – have been required to sign “deeds of release” preventing them from pursuing redress through independent secular justice mechanisms;

(d) About the limited information available on the support provided to child victims of family and domestic violence, including sexual violence;

(e) That Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be disproportionally affected by family and domestic violence, including sexual violence, both as victims and witnesses, that there are significant gaps in the responses to such violence within these communities and about the limited involvement, leadership and participation of these communities in the development of solutions;

(f) That children with disabilities are more vulnerable to violence, neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse, and, in particular, that girls with disabilities are forced to undergo sterilization procedures;

(g) About the limited information available regarding violence against children in remote areas, children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children.

30. With reference to its general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence and taking note of target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recalls its previous recommendations on violence against children and women (CRC/C/AUS/CO/4, paras. 47–48) and urges the State party:                                        

(a) To review the action plans under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020 and the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 with a view to prioritizing the implementation of key prevention measures and responses to violence against children of all ages, including sexual violence, in particular against girls;                                        

(b) Ensure that the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse establishes a comprehensive standard with regard to intervention in cases of child sexual abuse, including child-friendly, multiagency measures and appropriate therapeutic services to avoid secondary trauma or the retraumatization of child victims;                                        

(c) Review the National Redress Scheme to include non-citizens and non-permanent residents, persons sentenced to five years of imprisonment or longer and children who were under 8 years of age in 2018;                                        

(d) Disregard the “deeds of release” signed by the victims and survivors of abuse by religious personnel of the Catholic Church who wish to pursue redress through an independent and secular process;                                        

(e) Provide child-specific therapeutic interventions and counselling to child victims of violence, in addition to the support provided to families;                                        

(f) Substantially increase family violence prevention and responses related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, including through the indigenous family safety programme;                                        

(g) Review the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020 and the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 with a view to adequately preventing violence against children with disabilities and prohibit by law the sterilization of girls with disabilities without their prior, fully informed and free consent;                                        

(h) Encourage community-based programmes to address violence in all its forms against children in remote areas, children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children.

Harmful practices

31. The Committee welcomes the criminalization of forced marriage and, taking note of target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, urges the State party:                               

(a) To strengthen its measures to raise awareness of the harmful effects of child marriage on the physical well-being and mental health of girls;                                        

(b) To enact legislation explicitly prohibiting coerced sterilization or unnecessary medical or surgical treatment, guaranteeing the bodily integrity and autonomy of intersex children and providing adequate support and counselling to families of intersex children.

 

G. Disability, basic health and welfare (arts. 6, 18 (3), 23, 24, 26, 27 (1)–(3)
and 33)

Mental health

37. The Committee is seriously concerned that the number of children with mental health problems is increasing and, while welcoming the adoption in 2017 of the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, is concerned that the Plan does not include enough child-specific measures. The Committee is also particularly concerned:

(a) That almost one in seven children have been assessed to have mental health problems, with suicide being the leading cause of death among those aged 15–24;

(b) That the State party is among the countries in the world with the highest rate of children aged 5–14 years diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and that the number of psychostimulant drugs prescriptions has increased dramatically;

(c) That children themselves have identified mental health as a main issue of concern, one that affects in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children in alternative care, homeless children, children living in rural and remote areas, asylum-seeking children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children;

(d) That despite the increase in mental health services for children, such as the headspace and youth early psychosis programme, children, in particular those under 14 years of age, still have limited access to services.

38. Taking note of target 3.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recalls its previous recommendations on mental health (CRC/C/AUS/CO/4, para. 65) and urges the State party:                                        

(a) To invest in addressing the underlying causes of suicide and poor mental health among children, to improve knowledge about mental health with a view to promoting children’s awareness and access to support services and to ensure that the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan has a clear focus on children and that children’s perspectives are included in the development of the response services provided;                                        

(b) To prioritize mental health service delivery to children in vulnerable situations, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disabilities, children in alternative care, homeless children, children living in rural and remote areas, asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children;                                        

(c) To strengthen measures to ensure that psychostimulant drugs are prescribed to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder only as a measure of last resort and only after an individualized assessment of the best interests of that child and to ensure also that children and their parents are properly informed about the possible side effects of this medical treatment and about non-medical alternatives;                                        

(d) To increase the availability of online mental health services and web-based counselling, while making in-person mental health services child-friendly and accessible to children, including those under 14 years of age, throughout the territory of the State party.

 

H. Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28–31)

Education, including early childhood education and care

43. The Committee is still concerned that the efforts made to close the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children remain insufficient. The Committee, taking note of target 4.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, urges the State party:  

(a) To address the shortcomings of the Closing the Gap measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and to reach the targets on school attendance, retention rates, literacy and numeracy standards by paying particular attention to these children in remote areas and investing in teachers’ cultural competency of these communities’ history;                                        

(b) To invest more in improving education at the early childhood, primary and secondary levels, paying particular attention to children living in remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disabilities, children in marginalized and disadvantaged situations, children in alternative care and children from refugee and migrant backgrounds;                                        

(c) To ensure that all children with disabilities have access to inclusive education in mainstream schools and are provided with the support they need and to address the use of restraints and seclusion;                                        

(d) To strengthen the school-based Respectful Relationships initiative to promote gender equality and respect;                         

(e) To intensify its efforts to prevent and address bullying in schools, including online bullying, through the eSafety Commissioner and provide support to child victims, in particular lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children.