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SYDNEY, Australia – Australia sought on Monday to counter an epidemic of sexual violence against children that has lasted for decades. Prime Minister Scott Morrison officially apologized for the government's systemic failure to protect the country's children.
The apology at a gathering of victims in Canberra, the country's capital, was the culmination of a five-year government investigation that found widespread sexual abuse. The survey was perhaps the most ambitious survey of its kind ever undertaken by a country to examine cases of abuse in various religious and secular institutions. The investigators found that thousands of children had been sexually abused and that innumerable charges had been ignored or concealed.
"We are sorry," Morrison said in front of the Great Hall of Parliament, as victims, lawyers and officials held hands.
"Sorry for not being protected," he says. "Sorry not to be listened to. We are sorry to have refused to trust the words of children, not to believe you. In saying our apologies, we also say that we believe you.
The occasion was a solemn moment of calculation. The findings of the survey, released in December, revealed the extent of abuse – in schools, churches, sports clubs and foster homes – as well as the efforts made by many institutions to protect the aggressors.
Dozens of victims and their families gathered in Canberra for the ceremonies surrounding Monday's apology, and the events were televised across the country. Apologies offered a rare harmony in Parliament. Mr. Morrison and the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, echoed the nation's contrition.
But the day also reflected the depths of the victims' anguish and anger, as some in the crowd heckled the Prime Minister or walked out of the hall in protest.
"He did not stop saying sorry, sorry, sorry," he said. Paul Auchettl, whose abuse by a Catholic brother began at the age of 11. "It's like he does not know what to say. We need someone to develop a plan. It's not enough to say sorry. "
Officials announced their intention to issue a formal national apology shortly after the publication of the findings of the investigation, conducted as part of a royal commission, last year. The commission, the highest form of investigation in Australia, was announced in 2012. The panel heard more than 1,000 witnesses for nearly 15 months, officials said.
"It's not a few bad apples," the report says. "The main institutions of society have seriously failed."
In August, Catholic leaders in Australia responded to the survey with their own long report, apologizing for the misuse of priests and the inability of the church to cope with the problem.
"Until trust is restored," said Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, "all the excuses in the world will be missed."
The church agreed to adopt many of the recommendations of the investigation, but rejected any attempt to force priests to reveal their accusations of sexual abuse heard during the confession.
It was not the first time Australian leaders used the public apology as a highly visible platform for recognizing the sins of the country. In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to the Australian indigenous population for its policies to separate aboriginal children from their families and force them to reject their cultures for assimilation, creating what we call the "stolen generation".
This time, the language included in the apology was formulated through an extensive process, involving the contribution of victims and lawyers. Suggestion gathering sessions were held in cities across the country.
Monday's result reflected the distress and raw emotion surrounding the question.
"Today, Australia is facing trauma, an abomination that lurks for far too long," Morrison said in a moving speech in front of Parliament, his voice flickering as he said. he decried "broken trust, betrayed innocence".
"I believe you," Morrison added, referring to the victims. "We believe you. Your country believes you. "
"Listen, listen," replied other legislators.
Some moments seemed almost joyous, as when the Great Hall fills with applause when Julia Gillard, the former prime minister at the origin of the commission, was called upon to make an unexpected speech. "It took many years to get to that moment," she said.
There were also silent tears and frustrating outbursts, with some acknowledging disagreement over the best ways to provide support to the victims.
After the excuses, many victims came out to snuggle around a sculpture depicting a tree erected as a tribute to the victims of abuse. They attached to his branches long orange, blue, green and red ribbons that floated in the afternoon wind.
Victims of sexual abuse went to Canberra from all over the country. Mr. Auchettl, 60, came from Ballarat, a city where the authorities discovered a pedophile network in local Catholic schools. According to officials, 30 victims have committed suicide. The younger brother of M. Auchettl was one of them.
The public apology did little to ease his pain or frustration. Yet Mr. Auchettl found comfort in being surrounded by so many people who had experienced similar difficulties. After all, he said, the torture of sexual abuse is often private.
"I found my tribe," he says, "but the tribe is completely lost.
