KNOWING she’s helped even one child who’s been the victim of sexual abuse would be more than enough for Sue Diggles to take deep satisfaction from her child protection work with Brisbane Catholic Education.
That was part of the response she gave when asked what has kept her going for 16 years at the forefront of the difficult field for BCE.
At the end of Child Protection Week (September 7-13) Sue, who is BCE’s senior education officer for student protection, was reflecting on having received a state honour for her outstanding contribution to child protection.
At a ceremony at Parliament House, Queensland Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services Minister Tracy Davis presented her with the Professional (Non-Government) category award at the Child Protection Week Awards.
It was recognition of her steadfast commitment to child protection.
Giving reasons for remaining committed, Sue thinks of making a difference for children.
“I know over the time that we (student protection officers) have been there (at BCE), our schools have intervened, in some really serious cases and they’ve done the best we could to stop abuse which has in some cases been inter-generational abuse,” she said.
“One way the school may become aware of allegations of sexual abuse is through a student disclosing at school to a teacher.
“If that occurs it can be stressful for the child and the teacher. It can be very messy once it all happens.
“It’s not pleasant. It’s not pleasant for the child. It’s not pleasant to say it’s in the family. It’s usually very unpleasant.
“And even through subsequent statutory investigations and afterwards it often stays that way (ie stressful and unpleasant) before it ever gets better and you might never know… – it’ll take years for that child to grow up – about the outcome of that disclosure for that child and their family.
“Children often blame themselves because they bring the abuse forward and they can often be isolated and excluded from the family as a result of their disclosure.
“But we train our school personnel to acknowledge the difficulties for everyone involved but not to be held back by the multitude of negative outcomes that can happen after reporting sexual abuse.
“So when they are following reporting processes they are actually saying ‘No, we’re not going to keep this secret. We’re going to bring this out here and we’re going to try to protect and support this child the best we can by getting other relevant professionals involved (ie statutory agencies) whose job it is to investigate the concern and work ongoing with the family’.
“So that keeps us going – knowing that one of our schools has been instrumental in recognising, responding and reporting a disclosure of abuse of one of our students.
“You only have to have protected one child – one child. You only have to know one that’s been helped by whatever our schools have done and that’s worthwhile. It really is.”
It’s a contribution Sue may never have come to make had her early experience as a social worker been different.
She was drawn into the child protection area almost by default.
“I’ve been in different areas, even though I’ve been in education now for 16 years this year,” she said. “I worked in a non-government organisation as a counsellor and that’s where I first really got some knowledge about child abuse, especially sexual abuse of children, because I was actually in this organisation where I was the sole female counsellor in this area …
“By default I got women, and men, coming in who had been sexually abused as children and that’s where I was on the steep learning curve of actually hearing (about child sexual abuse) from an adult’s point of view.
“I learned that this abuse does happen across the board from all different sources, predominantly in the family of course, but from all different sources.”
Sue said “within the community word travelled that there was a ‘free’ female counsellor” available, and so more survivors of sexual abuse seeking counselling were referred to her.
She and another social worker started therapy groups as a result of that work.
“So basically it was hearing the stories of adult survivors that started me on (this path).”
Sue moved from that non-government role into statutory child protection with the State Government department responsible for that area before joining the BCE student protection team.
Apart from the satisfaction of making a difference in the lives of children, other aspects that have inspired Sue to remain committed include the collegiality within the student protection team and BCE in general, along with the trust and support she receives from the BCE leadership and the gratitude of school staff helped by the team.
And then there’s faith.
Having grown up at Alderley in Brisbane in a Catholic family of five, Sue said faith had always been important to her. Her faith has been the guide to her purpose in life.
“I’ve always had a strong faith. That’s why I love working in a faith organisation,” she said. “My faith has been something that’s kept me going in hard times.”
A key focus for Sue and the student protection team is building relationships with BCE schools and building relationships with the principals, “because we want them to ring us if they’re in doubt”.
She is on leave from her role, but was informed this month that BCE had three times the number of calls to the student protection team this year.
Sue said BCE used to make about 400 reports a year “to statutory agencies – to police and Child Safety – … but it’s really (increasing) and the calls coming in have tripled this year, from our schools”.
She said reports from schools stemmed from four main sources.
“It’s harm to students from in the community and in families. That’s one source – families and community – which is probably the biggest source,” she said.
“It’s the student self-harm, and that’s happening more with some young people’s fragile mental health.
“So, if they’re self-harming and they don’t have a parent willing and able to protect, we need to report that to ensure the child receives adequate protection, treatment and support.
“There’s the student-to-student incidents which are becoming quite significant now. This can be sexualised behaviour by students (towards other students).
“There’s the misuse of technology such as phone sexting and other inappropriate use of other devices.
“And then, of course, there’s harm, sexual abuse and other inappropriate behaviour by staff members towards students.”
However Sue said most of what was reported related to matters outside the school, and were not related to staff.
She said she thought the increase in calls was due to a combination of factors.
“It’s definitely I think that the Royal Commission (into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse) has raised awareness,” she said. “Plus, also the Toowoomba experience (involving a teacher who had sexually abused children in a Catholic primary school and where there were issues around proper reporting procedures).
“That was an experience that really was unfortunate (but it was a wake-up call for everybody) about how important and complex this area is.”
There had also been legislative changes to the requirements for reporting child sexual abuse and other types of harm.
Apart from being a consultancy service for BCE schools, the student protection team also is heavily involved in training of staff.
“Staff require training, students need educating about how to keep themselves safe, and parents need educating as well about how they talk to their kids as well around these kind of issues,” Sue said.
She said this was about creating a culture giving priority to child protection, and being child-centred and child-focused.
In the light of the Royal Commission, Sue is hopeful for the future.
“What did (former Prime Minister) Julia Gillard say? … ‘It’s a nation-changing event,’ I think she said when she announced it,” she said. “… For the Church, it was something that had to happen. I think everybody knew that.
“It’s opening up structures and processes that have required examination for a significant time. We can bring these things out and we need to bring them out.
“And of course it’s been not just the Catholic Church or any other churches that have hidden these types of things. Child sexual abuse has been hidden in families for years, generation after generation after generation.
“It’s about opening it up and giving children a voice and saying that we know that this is destructive to children, like any abuse is.
“It’s difficult. It’s challenging. But within our Church we can try and make sure that our people are trained, that they understand the dynamics of child sexual abuse and that we have processes that they can follow.
“It’s also important that they’re encouraged and supported through those processes if they do bring it forward, and that the people alleging the information, whether it’s children or other people, that we look after them as well.
“It’s challenging and complex but I think we’re on the path to that.”
