Multifaith child safety push

A Melbourne screening of Surviving Malka Leifer has brought together more than 35 leaders from multicultural, multifaith and ethno-specific organisations behind a joint commitment to child safety, in what organisers describe as the start of a national movement.

The roundtable was hosted by the Australian Childhood Foundation on June 25, following a morning screening of the documentary, and was facilitated by Settlement Council of Australia chief executive Maria Dimopoulos. Twenty organisations have endorsed the resulting statement, among them the Islamic Council of Victoria, the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights, the Hellenic Orthodox Community of Geelong and the Salvation Army.

Dassi Erlich, who with her sisters Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper pursued justice against former Adass Israel School principal Malka Leifer, said the day exceeded her expectations.

“We had people in that room who in no other setting would have potentially sat down together,” she said. “It was such a dream come true to actually see these incredible 35 to 40 leaders sitting in a room together.”

Erlich, who is youth and family programs manager at Pathways Melbourne, said the issues raised were far from unique to the Jewish community.