29^th November 2012
Jewish Community Urges Under­stand­ing and Support for Victims of Sexual Abuse
“Recent alleg­a­tions of sexual abuse in the Jewish community in Melbourne should be the subject of a thorough and proper invest­ig­a­tion by the police with the complete co-operation of the community’” said Jewish leaders this week in a statement issued jointly by the Aus­trali­an community’s umbrella body, the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry, together with the Victorian community’s roof body, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, the Organ­isa­tion of Rabbis of Australia and the Rab­bin­ic­al Council of Victoria.
“Anyone found to have betrayed the trust of children under their care or super­vi­sion must be held to account to the full extent of the law”, the statement continued. “The abuse of children in any way, be it physical, sexual, emotional or psy­cho­lo­gic­al, is abhorrent, par­tic­u­larly when it is per­pet­rated by those in positions of trust and authority. All claims of abuse must be treated with the utmost ser­i­ous­ness.
“The Jewish Community Council of Victoria and the Rab­bin­ic­al Council of Victoria have clearly and repeatedly pub­li­cized their position in relation to this matter, namely that it is oblig­at­ory to report cases of sexual abuse to the relevant author­it­ies. We echo this position and urge all alleged victims to come forward and provide the police with any relevant inform­a­tion they may have and do everything to assist the police with their enquiries.
“We call on the families, friends and advisers of those with claims of abuse to support them in every way, for the sake of helping victims to achieve justice and closure and to prevent further harm to other children. There is no place for victims to be ostra­cized or ‘punished’ in any way for coming forward and making a complaint.
“All victims should know that we stand ready to provide any assist­ance to them that we are able”.
For further inform­a­tion, please contact:
Executive Director
Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry
(02) 8353 8500
or
Executive Director
Jewish Community Council of Victoria
(03) 9272 5579