The “asymmetry myth” is that war crimes are committed by one's enemies but never, or hardly ever, by one's own combatants. The myth involves not only a common failure to acknowledge our own actual war crimes but also inadequate reactions when we are forced to recognize them. It contributes to the high likelihood that wars, just or unjust in their causes, will have a high moral cost. This cost, moreover, is a matter needing consideration in the jus ante bellum circumstances of preparedness for war as well as of conduct within it. As part of the symposium on Ned Dobos's book, Ethics, Security, and the War-Machine, I will argue that the strength of the asymmetry myth is sustained by certain forms of romantic nationalism linked to the glamorization of military endeavor.

Thousands of hours of evidence of trauma, pain and culpability presented to the current Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have left no doubt that organisations have always been and continue to be responsible for enacting a culture that ensures that their own staff and volunteers do not harm, abuse or exploit children who are involved directly or indirectly with the activities or services provided by the organisation. In the past 6 years, through its Safeguarding Children Accreditation Program, the Australian Childhood Foundation has worked with more than 100 organisations nationally and internationally to strengthen their capacity to protect children and young people. Our experience has highlighted that substantial confusion exists about how to construct a child protection policy that frames the expectations and responsibilities of individuals who work, volunteer or use the services/activities of an organisation. In this paper, the authors offer a blueprint for considering the critical elements of a child protection policy that organisations can use to evaluate and possibly reconfigure or formulate their own. The paper outlines the function of the child protection policy in an organisation; the principles for constructing the policy; and an example of content for a child protection policy. The authors conclude that, if constructed with heart and sensitivity, a child protection policy can shape and define the very narrative about what the organisation stands for in relation to the safety of children and the responsibilities of adults to fulfilling the rights of children and young people more broadly.

Parliamentary Inquiries into the adequacy of child protection services, as well as best practice care and service delivery in child protection, have been a dominant feature of contemporary Australia in recent times. The direct voices of children and young people in such inquiries are usually missing, despite them being at the very centre of the child protection system and a range of government policies. In this paper we reflect upon this issue and consider why these voices are absent and what factors and barriers limit their inclusion. A review of relevant literature and empirical data indicates that the structures, agendas and processes of such Inquiries are intrinsically adult-oriented endeavours in which the contributions and inclusion of children and young people are not easily accommodated. Through adopting a shift in perspective, orientation and practice, the voices and experiences of children and young people can be included in child protection Inquiries that have critical implications for the quality of their lives and their life chances. Such inclusions uphold the rights of children and young people and support the implementation of government policy in practice.