A conservative spokesman in Victoria has proposed banning men from working in childcare centres following the charging of a Melbourne childcare worker with over 70 abuse offences involving multiple children.
Morgan Jonas, president of the Freedom Party, said the recent allegations have raised serious questions about screening and oversight within early childhood education settings.
Joshua Dale Brown, 26, has been charged with numerous offences, including sexual assault, producing child abuse material using a carriage service, and recklessly contaminating goods to cause alarm or anxiety.
Authorities have recommended testing approximately 1,000 children for possible exposure to infectious diseases.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Jonas said the safety of kids should be the highest priority.
“If we as a society were to discriminate against men, and say men can no longer work in childcare, that effectively would further the security of children,” he told The Epoch Times.
“The protection and safety of children must be a priority over non-discriminatory employment practices.
“Children’s safety comes first before employment quotas, before people’s feelings, and before gender equality employment opportunities.
How Did This Man Work Undetected?
Jonas also questioned how the accused was able to work in the sector without detection and cited research suggesting the majority of child sexual abuse offenders are men.“I was disgusted by such a horrific crime against our society’s most vulnerable people, which are, of course, children,” he said.
“How could this have happened, and why was it not detected?
“To me, it raises questions about political correctness. And we need to look realistically at sexual offences against children, and understand that they’re overwhelmingly committed by men.
Mixed Views on Banning Male Educators
His comments have sparked renewed debate about gender roles in early childhood education.Louise Edmonds, founder of the Independent Collective of Survivors, an independent organisation dedicated to ending domestic, family, sexual and gendered violence, said she believed stronger measures should be taken.
Edmonds’ website says her organisation is also committed to working as a diverse team made up of people from all backgrounds, including Indigenous and LGBTs.
“It is extreme for one [banning men from childcare centres], but the thing is we’re now seeing this is the third case of huge amounts of children being exposed to pedophiles and child sex abusers in a childcare centre,” she told The Today Show.
“There are no current bans on removing men from the sector, however ... what we’re seeing is that less than eight percent of male workers are actually in the industry.
“The sad reality is there’s so much lived experience, evidence, and data around child sex offenders, and 97 percent of them are male.”
Edmonds also proposed a waiver for all parents, asking them if they wanted to opt in or out of having a male carer looking after their child.
She also said adding CCTV cameras associated with third-party child protection agencies could serve as future deterrants.
Meanwhile, debate on whether or not men should be banned from childcare centres has divided some conservatives, with Institute of Public Affairs deputy executive director, Daniel Wild, saying a male ban would be “reactionary.”
“My view is the same as Kristy McVee–she’s a former child abuse detective. She said quite rightly that banning male educators is a reaction, not a solution,” he told Sky News.
Urgent Review to Commence
The Victorian government will commission an urgent review into childcare safety in order to bring change after Brown’s offences rocked the industry and the nation.“I want this Victorian review to examine options for installing CCTV in childcare centres,” Premier Jacinta Allan said.
“But it will also look at the national framework for childcare to see if we can go further, and act faster, on any of the measures currently being considered at a national level.”
The review will report back to the government on Aug. 15.
