Ms Patricia Finlay:

When children say something has happened, it is critical that people believe them, listen to them, have an open mind that abuse can happen and have an inquiring mind in this regard. It is important that they believe children and take the necessary steps. This is a critical aspect. In organisations where there are concerns, historically or currently, one of the factors involved was a culture of not believing children and not allowing their voices to be heard and not allowing children and young people to participate in how an organisation was run and delivered services. Changing the culture and ethos around child and youth participation and how we deliver services is crucial.