Governing Child Abuse, Voices and Victimisation: The Use of Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Christian Institutions

177 Pages·2018·1.7 MB·English

by  Jodi Death

This is an important and timely book, providing an insightful analysis
into the production of truth in the inquiries into historical abuse taking
place across the West. By highlighting the interplay between an emerg-
ing victim voice, the media and the Roman Catholic Church it shows
how child sexual abuse has moved from the private to the public sphere,
threatening the power and reputation of previously trusted and respected
institutions both now and into the future.
Shurlee Swain, Professor of Humanities, National School of Arts,
Australian Catholic University
Astutely foregrounding the voices of survivors and the story of their
politicization, this book expertly weighs the value of the public inquiry
as a mode of governmental response to child sexual abuse by clergy.
With trenchant research, robust analysis and engaging prose, Jodi Death
brings into focus the key public inquiries in Australia and probes the
status of public inquiries as potential pathways to better justice out-
comes. Her analysis attends to the wider context of contemporary con-
structions of the victim, the role of media and investigative journalism in
victims’ justice-seeking, and the complex and often gravely unjust
dynamics of institutional response to victims of sexual abuse by clergy,
in particular the tensions arising from the Roman Catholic Church’s
claim to unique status in relation to law and the state. This is a valuable
book for all those concerned with the politics of victims’ struggles for
justice in the world today.
Rebecca Stringer, Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies,
University of Otago

Governing Child Abuse, Voices
and Victimisation
Child sexual abuse by clergy within the Roman Catholic Church has
emerged as a social and political discourse over the last three decades. The
analysis here specifically focuses on the establishment, conduct, and out-
comes of the extensive public inquiries of Australia, although inquiries in
other jurisdictions are also discussed. Unlike criminal or civil processes,
although they may be inquisitory in nature, public inquiries emerge from a
specifically political context and are a tool of governance embedded in a
larger context of governmentality. Understanding the broader political and
cultural contexts of public inquiries is important, then, in understanding
their value and effectiveness as justice processes – especially for victims of
CSA by clergy. What is interesting about public inquiry is that it situates
victims of CSA by clergy outside of criminal and civil justice processes and
recognises a different politicised relationship between victims as citizens,
the state, and Catholic institutions where abuse has occurred.
At the cutting edge of disciplinary and methodological understandings
of the interconnections between the church, state and families, his book
explores the dynamics of the emergence and politicisation of victims of
CSA by clergy, their expressions of resistance and the legitimisation of
their voice in public and political spheres.
Dr Jodi Death is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Justice, Queensland
University of Technology, Australia. Dr Death has a background working
in Child Protection and has been researching the perpetration of CSA in
institutions for over a decade. The primary focus of this work has been lis-
tening to and understanding the perspectives of survivors of clergy perpet-
rated child sexual abuse.
Victims, Culture and Society
Edited by Sandra Walklate
University of Liverpool, UK and Monash University, Australia
Kerry Carrington
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Concerns about victimisation have multiplied over the last 50 years.
Victims, Culture and Society explores the major concepts, debates and
controversies that this concern has generated across a range of disciplines
but particularly within criminology and victimology. As the impact of glo-
balisation, the movement of peoples, and the divergences between the
global north and the global south have become ever more apparent, this
series provides an authoritative space for original contributions in making
sense of these far- reaching changes on individuals, localities and nationali-
ties. These issues by their very nature demand an interdisciplinary
approach and an interdisciplinary voice outside conventional conceptual
boundaries. Victims, Culture and Society offers the space for that voice.
Each author will adopt a strong personal view and offer a lively and
agenda- setting treatment of their subject matter. The monographs will
encompass a transnational, global or comparative approach to the issues
they address. Examining new areas of both empirical and theoretical
inquiry, the series offers the opportunity for innovative and progressive
thinking about the relationship between victims, culture and society. The
books will be useful and thought-p rovoking resources for the international
community of undergraduates, post- graduates, researchers and policy
makers working within the broad field of victimisation.
1 Governing Child Abuse, Voices and Victimisation
The Use of Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Christian
Institutions
Jodi Death
www.routledge.com/Victims-C ulture-and- Society/book-s eries/VICS
Governing Child Abuse,
Voices and Victimisation
The Use of Public Inquiry into Child
Sexual Abuse in Christian
Institutions
Jodi Death
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Jodi Death
The right of Jodi Death to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-67745-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-55950-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Wearset Ltd. Boldon, Tyne and Wear
For Mum and Dad

Contents
List of illustrations x
Acknowledgements xi
List of abbreviations xiii
Prelude 1
1 Victims of CSA as politicised subjects 21
2 Recognising the ‘I’ in justice: political subjects, public
inquiry, and CSA 44
3 Media, power, and the significance of voice 65
4 Public inquiry as good governance: the case of the
Christian Brothers of Western Australia 88
5 Moderating responsibility: responses of the RCC to
public inquiry 116
6 Public inquiry and discursive spaces: future directions 140
Index 156