Australia: Want to ruin someone’s life? New law can help you.
As of this week, a new law in Queensland will make it a crime to “not report a belief of sexual offending against a child to police. While that might seem like a well-intentioned law to crack down on sexual abuse of children, the threat of criminal punishment for not reporting a “belief” is a pretty scary thing. Especially when the penalty is up to three years in prison.
Note, the law doesn’t punish failure to report knowledge of sexual abuse, the threshold for mandatory reporting is “belief” and the conduct can include “Grooming a child (or their parent or carer)” or “communications about sex or sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16 or a person with an impairment of the mind under the age of 18.” That’s pretty subjective and can easily be misinterpreted.
Not only can benign conduct (a barber giving a child a lollipop) or misinterpretation (overhearing communication between an adult and teenager about sex or anatomy in a clinical context), trigger a required report, but it also arms people with a cause for vindictiveness with new ammunition to harm someone’s reputation or liberty because the law immunizes “a person who, in good faith, discloses information in accordance with the provision… from liability of a civil or criminal nature.” In other words, they are protected from defamation suits or even criminal penalty for a false accusation.
Many among us take measures to protect ourselves, such as installing cameras in and around our homes. Not just to prevent crimes against us, but to capture exculpatory evidence in the event of a false accusation. What can you do outside your home to protect you?
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If you see something, say something; however just because one believes someone is being abused doesn’t make it true. Are we all Karen’s and Kens now for our moment of fame?
Nah. Because the Hit Lists exist, if I see something, I definitely won’t say anything to government. Their speciality is to make every problem worse. I will work to thwart them though and to make them even more dysfunctional and helpless.
So why is it not a crime to have knowledge and not report it, but a “belief” and not reporting is a crime? This makes absolutely no sense to me and is going to open a can of worms of all kinds of problems.
Think about it…a father takes his young child to a playground and when its time for them to go home, the child throws a tantrum and starts screaming and crying as the father takes the child by the arm and leads him or her back to the car. A bystander sees it and thinks, “OMG!!! A child is being abducted!!! Call the police!!” The police arrive quickly and hold the father at gunpoint, which traumatizes the child AND the father, and he is probably arrested or detained. Now he’s probably extremely irritated at not only the police, but the person making the report and could possibly seek revenge in some way.
Great law.