(Transcript from World News Radio)
Refugee advocates have welcomed an independent report into allegations of sexual abuse of asylum seekers at the Australian detention centre on Nauru.
The review found several dozen cases of abuse against asylum seekers on the island, with guards possibly trading drugs for sexual favours.
Santilla Chingaipe has the details.
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The Immigration Department released the report of the review by former Integrity Commissioner Philip Moss on Friday.
It was commissioned by former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison last year following allegations of inappropriate behaviour - some criminal - against detainees, including children.
Kon Karapanagiotidis is the chief executive of the Melbourne-based asylum seeker resource centre.
He says the report's findings are worrying.
"It's is deeply troubling. The independent Moss review paints a horrifying picture, especially for women and children on Nauru. In summary what does it say? One that there are credible and compelling evidence of the sexual abuse and rape of women and children. Two, a culture of fear and intimidation, where sexual abuse is underreported by women out of fear that it may affect their refugee outcomes. Three, sexual favours are being traded in return for marijuana, people trying to get some relief from the horrors of being in that place. Four, appalling things like guards employed by Transfields and Wilsons security leering at women while they lie in their tents in underwear due to the tropical heat."
Kon Karapanagiotidis says the report also highlights concerns from advocates and aid groups about both Nauru and Australia's other overseas detention centre, on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.
"Did they introduce 'working with children' checks on Nauru? No. Did they implement better screening of staff on those two islands (Manus and Nauru) in terms of ensuring duty of care and safety? No. Did they better train their staff? No. In fact they are outsourcing their staff from everywhere - I don't know if you know this, from everywhere from Cuba to Greece to the Philippines to South Africa."
The Moss review found no evidence to back claims by Scott Morrison that staff of the aid group, Save the Children, had been encouraging
self-harm and false claims by children on Nauru.
Mr Moss said there was information to substantiate misconduct by 10 Save the Children staff who Mr Morrison ordered removed from the island.
Paul Ronalds is the chief executive of Save the Children.
"We're delighted that the Moss review has exonerated our staff. They were among some of the most professional and skilled employees and in that context the allegations made against them were very very disturbing. So we're delighted to see that they have been cleared and we're delighted to see that this episode is behind us."
Mr Ronalds says the Moss review is the best evidence yet of the abuse taking place in Australia's overseas processing centres.
"To that end, we are encouraging the government to move to an open processing centre as soon as possible. They announced that some months ago and we've been working with the government since then to implement that. That will go some way to reducing the harm , but really, we need to have a look in the short term at the accountability and transparency in the way that this centre is being operated and in the medium to long term, we need to find a policy solution that is more sustainable than what is currently in place."
The Moss report comes just weeks after the Australian Human Rights Commission released its report detailing the impact of detaining asylum-seeker children between 2013 and 2014.
It found that over a 15-month period there were 112 incidents of self-harm among children and 27 incidents of voluntary starvation.
The commission's president Gillian Triggs was strongly criticised by the Abbott-government for releasing the report which also called for a royal commission into chidlren in detention.
Former disability commissioner Graeme Innes says the Moss review confirms the criticisms made by the Human Rights Commission report.
"Her report and the commission's report - and I was one of the people of that made the decision to go ahead with that report - it was not partisan. It was very balanced and it criticised both this government and the former government for having kids in detention but it also noted that those kids have been there for a much longer time, so that criticism didn't ever have any basis. So this Moss report just confirms the view expressed in the Forgotten Children's report that kids should not be in detention."
The Immigration Department says all19 recommendations from the Moss review have been accepted, and it has begun work on implementing them.
But it says any decision on criminal proceedings are not a matter for Australia - and will have to be taken up by Nauru authorities.
Meanwhile, Scott Morrison has rejected calls for him to apologise to Save the Children for the accusations he made against its staff who were withdrawn from Nauru.
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