Jodi Death

Allegations of child sexual abuse in parenting disputes: An examination of judicial determinations in the Family Court of Australia

ABSTRACT This study examined Family Court of Australia (FCA) judicial determinations in parenting disputes when allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA) are made by an interested party, usually the mother. For the study, 156 published judgments from 2013–2015 were examined to measure how often allegations of CSA are substantiated, suspected to be true, and disbelieved. The characteristics most common in substantiated versus unsubstantiated cases, evidence of abuse presented, and resulting parenting orders were assessed. Findings indicate that, against international comparisons, FCA judges substantiate cases very conservatively, with rates of substantiation much lower than in other studies. Allegations made by mothers against fathers were disproportionately unsubstantiated, as were those which did not fall under the Magellan case management system. Cases where the only evidence of CSA was a child’s disclosure and parent’s allegation were common in both substantiated and unsubstantiated cases, meaning that a lack of other evidence does not preclude a positive finding of risk of CSA by the FCA. Those cases also involving a protection order against the accused were more likely to be substantiated. Confirmation biases and a judicial tendency to err on the side of false negatives are discussed.

Child Sexual Abuse and the Church

This chapter considers the issue of child sexual abuse (CSA) within the Roman Catholic Church (the Church) internationally. In particular, the State-facilitated responses in the USA, Ireland and Australia are considered for this study. This includes the function of civil litigation and State inquiry. Such inquiries continue to be extremely important in understanding CSA in Catholic institutions. Internationally, civil litigation and public inquiries have become a substantial response in the survivor’s pursuit of justice and in understanding the breadth and depth of the issues associated with CSA by Roman Catholic clergy (clergy). Such methods are inherently jurisdictional and may not go far enough to challenge the deeply rooted systemic and cultural issues that impact on the ways in which CSA by clergy is perpetrated and managed. Hence, consideration needs to be given as to how the upper echelons of the Church can be brought to account for both primary and secondary abuses in the perpetration and management of CSA by clergy.