One of Australia’s largest private childcare operators will accelerate the launch of CCTV in more than 400 centres, with child sexual abuse allegations against employees in a few days.
The company said G8 education will also let parents and caregivers choose who can change their child’s diapers and bring them to the toilet.
Joshua Dale Brown, 26, is charged with committing more than 70 crimes against eight children, including rape, at a G8 Education-owned Centre in Melbourne between 2022 and 2023.
The company’s boss said the allegations were “very disturbing” and apologized for “unthinkable pain caused to our families.”
The Australian-listed company runs nearly twenty parenting center brands and employs about 10,000 employees to care for about 41,000 children.
Pejman Okhovat, managing director of the company, said in a Tuesday announcement that it will also conduct an independent review of the allegations against Brown once the police investigation and criminal proceedings are over.
“Our main focus now is to support all affected families and team members in Victoria,” he said.
The company said it launched CCTV at all centers at the G8 Education Center after trials were held at certain locations, but no launch schedule was given.
“While installation will take time, we are committed to transparency and as more information is available, our families and teams will provide information in a timely manner,” a company spokesperson said.
When asked whether family and staff must be given consent before being monitored, the company said “the importance of complying with child safety, child dignity, privacy and data protection requirements.”
It also added that the company will also “commit to comply with all relevant privacy laws and departmental regulations and adopt best practice cybersecurity measures.”
The spokesperson did not say who will operate the CCTV system and who will be able to access the video or store the lens for the time.
For child safety experts and formerly defined Kristi McVee, CCTV “will only be as good as the humans who manage it.”
She told the BBC that it can be circumvented and that evidence can be destroyed to protect the interests of the organization. ”
Take Ashley Paul Griffiths as an example – currently sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and sexual abuse Nearly 70 young girls in child care center McVeigh said in Australia and overseas – the ECB did not act as a deterrent at the center of his work.
Professor Daryl Higgins, head of the Institute for Child Protection at Catholic University in Australia, responded to these concerns.
Professor Higgins said: “This is not a silver bullet and requires a lot of consultation on whether, where, how we implement it.”
“Who can view the lens and how to use it?” he asked.
Martyn Mills-Bayne, a senior lecturer at the University of South Australia early childhood education, fears CCTV will provide a “wrong sense of security” and allow operators to postpone better measures, such as increasing employee rates.
He also said giving parents and carers the option to change their diapers and bring their children to the toilet could put additional pressure on female workers and could lead to gender discrimination during the hiring process.
An investigation into Brown’s alleged crimes found that he worked at 20 parenting centers between 2017 and his arrest in May 2017 this year, including those operated without G8 education.
This prompted health authorities to ask about 1,200 families of children who are cared for in Brown at these centers Accept tests for infectious diseases.
The authorities said testing was a “precautionary measure.” The allegations against Brown have also prompted state and federal governments to commit more stringent employee inspections and regulations in the parenting department.
Brown is charged with child rape and sexual assault and the production and dissemination of child abuse materials, which are related to children between five months and two years of age.
He has not pleaded guilty yet, but has been remanded in custody and was scheduled to appear in Melbourne Local Court in September.
