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C-BERSS EX-PRESS
March 2002
Issue 1, Vol 5
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All Newsletters : March 2002 : Lifting the Veil of Secrecy
Lifting the Veil of Secrecy
A message from C-BERS chairperson, Maria Harries
Nine months ago, I made reference in this newsletter to an emerging change in attitudes towards the issues facing former child migrants based on the experiences they underwent as children.
Six months ago, in September 2001, we reported on the findings of the Senate Inquiry into Child Migration which, amongst other things, chronicled the abuses to which many former child migrants were subject.
While that particular Senate report did not capture the newspaper headlines in any sustained way, many of you will be aware that the institutional abuse of children in the past has been very much on the public agenda for the greater part of this year, with news reports delving into events of long ago just as comprehensively as those which have occurred more recently.
While the news media may not be the best forum to canvas and resolve these issues, the current wave of public interest may, at least and at last indicate that the community as a whole sees itself as having a stake in protecting its children, recognizing that a failure to do so has ramifications long into the future.
Child abuse typically occurs in private and is perpetuated through secrecy. It is to be hoped that the increasing public awareness of this issue will not only help to heal the wounds of the past but also contribute to constructive measures which may prevent its occurrence in the first place.
Maria Harries
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