Aboriginal sexual abuse

A sad chapter of Aboriginal health is the sexual health and abuse, especially of children. Issues like stolen wages and the governmental removal of children (Stolen Generations) lead to hopelessness and cultural dissociation. This in turn leads to inappropriately high alcohol consumption or petrol sniffing which causes violence and in the worst cases sexual abuse of children. Aboriginal community and family structures that once protected children from sexual abuse break down.

Dire consequences of sexual abuse of children

As a consequence of dysfunctional families Aboriginal children are exposed to adult sexual behaviour, neglect and violence. Children copy what they witness or watch on DVDs which is totally inappropriate for their age.

The consequences of child sexual abuse are horrifying:

Children under the age of 10 and as young as 4 are diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and trichomoniasis [7].
Children as young as three have been exposed to pornographic material in their homes [9].
Teenagers rape children.

Within a six-month period in early 2007 the Northern Territory Health Department reported more than 800 cases of sexually transmitted diseases in Indigenous populations, while just 53 cases were noted in non-Indigenous groups [7].

Sexual abuse gets children into a vicious circle

When we assess and judge sexual offenders we often forget their history of abuse. Sexual offenders rarely offend because they cannot control their sexual desire. The much likelier reason is the damage done to them in their childhood, the pain caused by cultural and identity loss, or the traumas suffered when they themselves became victims of sexual abuse.

A sad case study of abuse

"HG was born in a remote Barkly community in 1960. In 1972, he was twice anally raped by an older Aboriginal man. He didn't report it because of shame and embarrassment.

He never told anyone about it until last year when he was seeking release from prison where he had been confined for many years as a dangerous sex offender.

In 1980 and 1990, he had attempted to have sex with young girls. In 1993, he anally raped a 10-year-old girl and, in 1997, an eight-year-old boy (ZH). In 2004, ZH anally raped a five-year-old boy in the same community." [8]

Child sexual abuse is now known as intergenerational and perpetuated by fear and shame [1]. The cycle began in the late 1800s when white missionaries abused Aboriginal children they had vowed to protect.

It continued on stations where white farmers and graziers almost routinely raped their Aboriginal employees. Rarely felt they compelled to look after children born from these rapes. Seasonal workers and truck drivers followed in later decades.

As you can see from the case study above abusers are also black, mostly former victims. Unable to deal with the pain they suffered, their only release being to do to others what had been done to them.

Aboriginal communities are usually not interested in naming their perpetrators for fear of incarceration. Indigenous prison rates are already far too high. Other reasons might be that the abuser is a close family member or that the child is not strong enough to stand the pressures of a trial.

Causes of child sexual abuse

Community meeting during the inquiry into sexual child abuse in the NT.

Community hearing during the inquiry into sexual child abuse in the Northern Territory [9]. The inquiry found 'widespead sexual abuse' and made 97 recommendations, few of which were implemented.

Child abuse is not driven by sexual desire. The immediate cause seems to be a cocktail of alcohol abuse and resulting violence when the offender is of mature age.

There are also young offenders of teen age and below who just imitate the behaviour they are exposed to by adults or by pornographic material. Their victims are even younger, sometimes toddlers.

The authors of the 'Little Children are Sacred' report believe that "generations of social problems" play an important role, one of which is education. "Education is the key to helping children and communities nurture safe, well-adjusted families," believes Rex Wild, co-author of the report [9]. Getting children to attend school puts them into such a safe environment.

Other causes include [9,11]:

overcrowding of houses
limited education
boredom
easy access to drugs and pornography
limited understanding of European ways due to English being a third or fourth language
frustration and helplessness
government neglect
childhood sexualisation (exposure to graphic pornography at a very young age)
no or limited sexual education

When it came to matters of sex he was clueless, save that he watched porn [...] that was in essence his sex education. —Peter Elliot, lawyer of a juvenile sex offender [11]

The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) or intervention was a rushed response to a report detailing child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities. Millions of dollars were spent, yet tangible outcomes were rare.

Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] 'Damming the river of shame', SMH 3/1/2009 [7] 'Illness rates terrify AMA', Koori Mail 417, p.4 [8] 'Little Children are Sacred' report, 2007, p.14 [9] 'Abuse rampant', Koori Mail 403, p.1 [11] 'Innocence lost', Koori Mail 417, p.22 [12] 'Quitting smokes the goal of calendar', Koori Mail 417, p.40