The government is to make it a criminal offence to fail to report evidence of physical or sexual abuse, as part of child-protection laws being drafted.
Frances Fitzgerald, the children’s minister, will bring proposals to cabinet this month for a limited form of mandatory reporting of child abuse, accompanied by a range of penalties.
Failure by teachers, doctors, sports coaches, or youth leaders to give gardai information which could assist a prosecution for physical or sexual assault would be an offence punishable by jail or a fine, under the proposed legislation.
The minister will also recommend that the state’s 1999 child protection guidelines be enshrined into law, and that those working with children face penalties for failing to meet their obligations.
Senator Jillian van Turnhout, the outgoing chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA), said: “We need a situation whereby if someone has information about abuse, they don’t just sit on it because the perpetrator is a respected person or local professional.”
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Child-advocacy groups have different views on the impact of full mandatory reporting, said van Turnhout. The CRA made no recommendation to government because its 90 member organisations were divided on the best approach.
“Child abuse is insidious and takes place over time,” she said. “I don’t want to be prosecuted because I didn’t join the dots. Rarely does a child say ‘I am being abused’. More likely they will change their behaviour ... there may be noticeable things, but very often it is over time.”
Van Turnhout said compulsory reporting in all cases would not be in the best interests of victims because it could compel a counsellor to pass on details they have heard from a client, damaging the trust needed to help a victim.
Under the proposals being developed by Fitzgerald, teachers, doctors and nurses could face sanctions for lapses under child-protection laws. Failure to report signs of neglect, for example, could trigger a disciplinary process leading to dismissal, according to a government official.
The government could withdraw funding from sports bodies or youth organisations which fail to meet the statutory child-protection standards.
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“We have all these rules we are supposed to comply with, but there are no penalties if we don’t,” said a government source. “But a form of mandatory reporting that required all citizens to report all suspicions could overwhelm the child-protection system.”
The definition to be brought to government in a joint memo by Fitzgerald and Alan Shatter, the justice minister, is likely to focus on information that could be of assistance in bringing a prosecution.
Fitzgerald has discussed revising the state’s child-protection policies with the Catholic church-funded National Board for Safeguarding Children. Officials have also consulted the CRA and Emily Logan, the children’s ombudsman.
Mandatory reporting was first recommended by Judge Catherine McGuinness in her 1993 report on the Kilkenny incest case, in which a man abused his daughter for 13 years.
A draft white paper and a memorandum for government were prepared in 2000, but shelved by the then government after it was advised by the attorney-general that it could lead to complex legal issues, such as defamation.