Are Australian Jewish community organisations meeting child safe standards in their policies? An exploratory desktop audit

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the more recent Malka Leifer trial have both highlighted concerns about manifestations of child sexual abuse within the Australian Jewish community. Yet, to date, there has been no examination of how Australian Jewish organisations have responded to these concerns and, particularly, whether the child safe standards introduced at state and/or national level have been actively operationalised within their core policies and practices. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory desktop audit of the child safe policies of 10 de-identified Victorian Jewish organisations. Our findings suggest that they are, at least in principle, adhering to the 11 mandatory Child Safe Standards in Victoria and, in several cases, are also providing a specific religious and cultural rationale for prioritising child safety measures. Nevertheless, more research is required to ascertain whether the public policy statements (i.e. their intent) are being matched by action.