Sexual Abuse In State Care

A 15-year-old girl who reported being raped had a miscarriage and was offered Panadol.

Two older boys sexually abused a 12-year-old disabled boy.

A 13-year-old girl who had a 24-year-old boyfriend, was raped.

A 14-year-old disabled boy was abused by an older man.

I can see you there with your mouth open.

It’s horrifying to think these unspeakable acts happen to children in Australia “” but they do. Everyday.

In what is being hailed a “landmark report”, the Children’s Commissioner Bernie Geary has released information into Victoria’s residential care system.

AAP reported the emotional and frustrated Commissioner said he was sick of sitting at his desk every morning to get fresh reports of children in state care being hurt.

“A little girl said to me last year, she said: `look Bernie, I know I’m not special in anyone’s eyes’,” a tearful Mr Geary told reporters on Wednesday.

“And that’s a pretty horrible thing for a kid to think, isn’t it?”

Mr Geary said in the last two and a half months there were 120 sexual harm reports relating to 206 children in Victoria.

Last year police shut down a cartel of men who were targeting children in state care but Mr Geary said it was still happening.

He said there were more than 500 children in state care but that number should be halved within two years and more children placed in better-supported foster homes.

As well as the cases above, the report included incidences in which older boys raped younger children, a 13-year-old girl put sexually explicit videos of herself on YouTube and teenage girls were abused by their care workers.