Nearly 50 Sexual Assaults Are Recorded At Australian Aged Care Homes Every Week

Shocking statistics have emerged at the Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care.

There were nearly 50 cases of sexual assault recorded every week across the country in numbers that have been labelled a 'national shame'.

The figures were unveiled during Senior counsel assisting the royal commission Peter Rozen's closing submissions.

He said: "Commissioners, this is a national shame. Many witnesses have explained they placed their loved ones into residential aged care because they felt it would be safer for them or because safety was a concern.

"It is therefore entirely unacceptable that people in residential aged care face a substantially higher risk of assault than people living in the community."

Mr Rozen said during 2018-19 there were 2,520 cases of 'unlawful sexual contact' in Australian aged care homes that were reported.

PA

Mr Rozen added: "As disturbing as these figures are, the evidence of the lack of follow-up by the Australian Government department that receives the reports is, if anything, worse."

The inquiry heard that between the same time frame, there were also 5,233 allegations of assault reported by residential aged care services, which includes nearly 800 allegations of sexual assault.

Peter Gray QC, the other counsel assisting, told the inquiry there is a clear connection between staffing levels and quality of care.

The Royal Commission has been working through a whopping 588 submissions directly relating to sexual abuse at individual care homes around Australia. In total, it's received around 10,000 submissions and suggestions on how to make it better.

The Commission isn't expected to hand down their recommendations until next year. In the meantime, the counsel assisting has made some points on what could be implemented to protect residents.

They've made an incredible 124 recommendations, which includes an independent process for setting aged care quality standards, an enforceable general duty of care on approved providers, mandated staffing ratios in residential aged care, requiring personal care workers to be registered, and an independent process for setting aged care quality standards.

Topics: News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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