Chapter 15

Introduction

Clause 3(d) of the Board of Inquiry’s Terms of Reference required it to inquire into and report on ‘[a]ppropriate ways to support healing for affected victim-survivors, secondary victims, and affected communities including, for example, the form of a formal apology, memorialisation or other activities’.¹

Victim-survivors made clear to the Board of Inquiry that healing is important to them. As one participant at the Board of Inquiry’s Lived Experience Roundtable said: ‘healing really is for us as survivors — it’s about changing the narrative, about making it a comfortable space to talk about. We have to have the conversation’.²

This Chapter introduces and explores concepts of healing, including individual and collective healing. It examines how victim-survivors can heal from the impacts of historical child sexual abuse, recognising that healing is a very personal experience and takes different forms. It also explores the different ways that secondary victims and communities affected by historical child sexual abuse can heal.

Understanding what healing means for different people is an essential part of considering the range of actions required to support people and communities affected by child sexual abuse to heal. These responses are discussed in Chapter 18, Looking to the future(opens in a new window).

Healing from historical child sexual abuse

This section explores concepts of healing, and how communities and institutions can support people to heal from historical child sexual abuse.

Concepts of healing

Healing can have different meanings depending on the context, including the form of trauma involved.

At an individual level, healing has been described as an active and multidimensional process that happens within a person, rather than something that can be done to them.³ It can include ‘making things right’⁴ and ‘restoring balance where wrong has been done’.⁵

There is growing recognition in the field of healthcare that the concept of healing, which involves holistic, patient-centric care, is as important as that of curing.⁶ Researchers have developed an ‘Optimal Healing Environments framework’ with four domains — internal, interpersonal, behavioural and external — that recognise healing extends beyond the individual.⁷ The framework supports patients’ healing ‘by addressing the social, psychological, physical, spiritual, and behavioral components of healthcare’.⁸

Much can also be learned from concepts of healing as understood by First Nations communities, which take a holistic view of the process that incorporates the individual, families and communities.

Professor Tom Calma AO, while serving as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, described healing as ‘a necessary response to address trauma experienced by individual[s] and communities’.⁹ Professor Calma further described healing as a process that is personal and requires different responses for different people.¹⁰ He expressed the view that healing is not only about an individual; it also includes families and communities.¹¹

According to the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, healing ‘embraces social, emotional, physical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of health and wellbeing’.¹² Healing approaches in Aboriginal communities can support a reduction in the impacts of trauma and abuse, increase social connection, improve social and emotional wellbeing, and reduce suicide rates.¹³

When working as a registered psychologist at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, Associate Professor Graham Gee told the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services:

The Board of Inquiry heard about the importance of relational experiences to healing, such as ‘warm’ interactions that acknowledge a victim-survivor’s experiences and to help create a safe space that is conducive to healing.¹⁵

Support networks, such as family and friends, can also be important to a victim-survivor’s healing. One victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry: ‘The support of my family and friends has been important, and I couldn’t have spoken up today without them’.¹⁶ A participant at the Board of Inquiry’s Healing Roundtable said that while child sexual abuse ‘is an interpersonal crime’, healing requires ‘interpersonal engagements. It’s a relational experience, it’s not a transactional experience’.¹⁷

The role of communities in healing

Communities are very important in supporting victim-survivors and secondary victims to heal.

Trauma and healing both happen in the context of social connections, making community connectedness critical to the process of healing from trauma.¹⁸ A participant at the Board of Inquiry’s Healing Roundtable spoke about the importance of communities acknowledging past wrongs:

The participant went on to speak about communities’ collective duty to allow victim-survivors and their families to unburden themselves from their trauma:

A further participant at the Healing Roundtable also spoke about this issue, saying:

Communities can come together in the face of institutional child sexual abuse to foster healing.²² The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse highlighted one example of this, in which the Ballarat community united to support victim-survivors, through the LOUD fence movement. This movement involved parishioners and community members tying ribbons to the fences of institutions where child sexual abuse had occurred to demonstrate their solidarity with victim-survivors.²³ Maureen Hatcher, Founder, LOUD fence Inc, gave evidence to the Board of Inquiry that LOUD fence was established because many people in the Ballarat community were ‘concerned that there was nothing we could do. We were hearing all these truths being spoken from these brave voices that spoke out, and there was nothing as a community we could do to let them know that we supported them’.²⁴

Fiona Cornforth, inaugural head of the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research at the Australian National University and former Chief Executive Officer of The Healing Foundation, told the Board of Inquiry about the role the community can play in supporting healing:

A participant at the Healing Roundtable told the Board of Inquiry there is a difference between ownership of historical harm and responsibility for historical harm.²⁶ The participant explained that while current communities are not responsible for historical harm, they must take ownership for responding to the harm that has been caused by institutional failures.²⁷

The role of inquiries in healing

Increasingly, royal commissions and inquiries are being established with a truth-telling focus, providing people who have experienced abuse or suffered damage or injury in particular settings with an opportunity to share their experiences. These inquiries are under-pinned by principles that value the sharing of these experiences, and they provide victim-survivors with an opportunity to heal. In the context of historical child sexual abuse within institutions, inquiries with a truth-telling focus can also provide an opportunity for victim-survivors to rebuild what can often be low levels of trust in institutions, and to re-engage with those institutions if they wish to do so.²⁸

Dr Katie Wright, Associate Professor, Department of Social Inquiry, La Trobe University, provided evidence to the Board of Inquiry that ‘victim-survivors across the world have called for public inquiries to examine abuse within institutions [—] sexual abuse and other forms of abuses as well’.²⁹ As Dr Wright explained:

However, while Dr Wright’s evidence indicated that inquiries can be an important way to support healing, she noted that people will respond to inquiries in their own way, and that inquiries may be re-traumatising for some victim-survivors.³¹

The Board of Inquiry also heard directly from victim-survivors about the importance of its work to their healing. One victim-survivor said the Board of Inquiry could be a voice for victim survivors.³² Another victim-survivor described how the Board of Inquiry made him feel that he had finally been listened to, and that he believed other victim-survivors would benefit from hearing about other people’s experiences.³³

Another victim-survivor described how the Board of Inquiry had brought some victim-survivors back together, and they were no longer frightened to talk about their experiences.³⁴

An individual who works with victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse within institutions told the Board of Inquiry that inquiries can prompt victim-survivors to disclose their experience of abuse in order to prevent future harm to other children.³⁵

The role of institutions in healing

The Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings called institutional betrayal ‘a particular form of harm’ related to abuse and defined it as the ‘failure of an institution to provide a safe environment for a victim-survivor, as well as an institution’s failure to act once a disclosure of abuse is made’.³⁶

In cases of institutional child sexual abuse, institutions can play an important role in healing by acknowledging the institutional betrayal and the child sexual abuse that occurred, providing a meaningful apology and taking actions to protect other children from sexual abuse.³⁷ Through these types of actions, institutions can also provide an opportunity for victim-survivors to reconnect with the institution, if they choose to.³⁸ Participants at the Healing Roundtable told the Board of Inquiry that to support healing, institutional responses should engage victim-survivors in a way that makes them feel ‘seen and heard and … no longer invisible’.³⁹

However, the Board of Inquiry heard that institutional responses to revelations about historical child sexual abuse are often poor, and miss opportunities to support healing and the rebuilding of trust.⁴⁰

A participant at the Healing Roundtable told the Board of Inquiry:

Institutions can contribute to healing by accepting responsibility and being accountable for the historical harm for which they are responsible. The refusal of institutions to do so can have negative impacts on victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.⁴² The Board of Inquiry heard directly from victim-survivors about how it was important to their healing for the Department of Education (Department) to be accountable for the extent of historical child sexual abuse in government schools, and to understand the magnitude of its impacts.⁴³

The Board of Inquiry heard evidence from Dr Rob Gordon OAM, Clinical Psychologist and trauma expert, that for schools where child sexual abuse occurred, the Department and local governments all have a role to play in helping communities to heal.⁴⁴

There is significant scope for institutions, including the Department, to play a proactive and meaningful role in supporting people to heal from historical child sexual abuse in government schools.

Ways of healing from historical child sexual abuse

Healing is a personal journey. The Board of Inquiry heard that people’s experiences and healing pathways are different.⁴⁵ Bravehearts, an organisation that works with, and advocates for, victim-survivors of child sexual abuse, told the Board of Inquiry that ‘[h]ealing may be defined differently by individual victims and survivors and their needs may vary’.⁴⁶ Victim-survivors also told the Board of Inquiry that each victim-survivor’s needs are unique to the individual.⁴⁷

The Board of Inquiry heard from people who work with victim-survivors and secondary victims that there is a need for responses to be led by victim-survivors,⁴⁸ to maximise choice⁴⁹ and to promote ‘a sense of hope’.⁵⁰

This section focuses on some of the strategies and supports the Board of Inquiry was told may be helpful for victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse.

Healing for victim-survivors

For many people affected by trauma and abuse, the decision to share their experience can be ‘the first step to healing’.⁵¹ In one study examining healing for adult male victim-survivors of child sexual abuse, participants described healing as a process of moving away from the effects of the child sexual abuse towards a ‘a sense of freedom, belonging, and power’.⁵²

The initial disclosure by victim-survivors of their experience of child sexual abuse, which may take place decades after the child sexual abuse occurred, can be an important step towards healing.⁵³ A victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that opening up and telling friends about their experience of child sexual abuse has helped them deal with its impacts and stop blaming themselves for what happened.⁵⁴ While studies suggest that a range of factors support recovery, victim-survivors talking about their experience is a key part of the healing process.⁵⁵ In noting this, the Board of Inquiry also acknowledges that for some victim-survivors, their first disclosure was a negative experience — and, in some cases, re-traumatising.

A number of victim-survivors said that therapeutic supports had played a significant role in helping them to heal. Some described positive experiences with psychologists. For example, a victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that working with their psychologist to embrace their inner child has been very powerful:

Other victim-survivors told the Board of Inquiry about different strategies and supports they have used to further their healing and recovery. One victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that transcendental meditation has ‘saved my life’. They also believe that a wellness centre, where people can mediate and feel peace and serenity, would be helpful for victim-survivors.⁵⁷

Another victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry about the benefits of a short-term residential retreat,⁵⁸ while a secondary victim told the Board of Inquiry they would like rehabilitation and wellness centres to be available to support people to heal, with a focus on the effects of child sexual abuse.⁵⁹

Participants in the Lived Experience Roundtable and the Healing Roundtable told the Board of Inquiry that peer support and connecting with people who have a shared understanding of the experience of historical child sexual abuse can support healing and provide a sense of hope.⁶⁰

The Board of Inquiry also heard that some victim-survivors have been drawn to careers or volunteer work helping children, because they saw it as a way to heal from their own childhood experiences. One victim-survivor described their desire to work in a career in a profession helping children, and said: ‘looking back now, I wanted to protect others because I wasn’t protected’.⁶¹ Another victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that coaching sport has been an important part of his healing process. He said: ‘I love coaching sport and I love seeing young people get something out of sport. Coaching kids and seeing them enjoy sport have been part of my healing process. It has been a saviour for me and has gotten me back into sport again’.⁶²

While giving back in this way can be helpful, it can also bring with it feelings of sadness, anger or confusion. One victim-survivor said: ‘what upsets me the most is that when I go to work, I protect kids and no one protected us’.⁶³

The Board of Inquiry also heard that reconnecting with the institution where the historical child sexual abuse occurred (such as a school) can be healing for some victim-survivors.⁶⁴ The Board of Inquiry heard that in these circumstances, reconnection can be a ‘wonderful hope-filled journey’.⁶⁵

A former student of Trinity Grammar School, who has spoken publicly about his experience of sexual abuse as a child at the school, shared his experience of reconnecting with the Trinity Grammar community and engaging with the school.⁶⁶ While events at Trinity Grammar are not within the scope of this Board of Inquiry, the experience of this victim-survivor are informative for the inquiry’s work. He said: ‘I feel energised and positive that the school has changed and that I have contributed to the wellbeing of the school community. After a lot of pain, it’s now finally a community that I want to be a part of’.⁶⁷

Victim-survivors and secondary victims may also need to feel a sense of justice. A victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that apologies were over-rated and not meaningful for her, and that an investigation into child sexual abuse in government schools was needed, saying: ‘I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else. I don’t want a system that allows child abuse to continue’. When asked what would support her healing, she replied, simply: ‘justice’.⁶⁸ This perspective was shared by another victim-survivor, who told the Board of Inquiry they wanted to bring their abuser to justice.⁶⁹

Some victim-survivors felt that changes were needed to hold alleged perpetrators accountable. For example, one victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that alleged perpetrators needed to be brought ‘out of the darkness’.⁷⁰ Another victim-survivor said that punishments for alleged perpetrators were inadequate.⁷¹ A secondary victim told the Board of Inquiry that the ‘lack of accountability for the profound harm [alleged perpetrators] have caused is deeply devastating and continuously harms the victims’.⁷²

As discussed above, the process of healing is different for everyone. Some victim-survivors who shared their stories with the Board of Inquiry did not feel they had any further healing to do. For others, their healing process is a very long road. The Board of Inquiry heard evidence from Professor Patrick O’Leary, Co-Lead of the Disrupting Violence Beacon and Director of the Violence Research and Prevention Program, Griffith University, that in cases of complex trauma, healing is an ongoing process that ‘is never fully complete’.⁷³ Professor O’Leary explained that in other contexts, healing ‘is seen as a final thing and that people move [on] and never revisit the issue’.⁷⁴

In relation to complex trauma, however, Professor O’Leary’s evidence was that ‘people can reach a very safe and healing space, but years later, something can trigger them … that may take them back to that trauma’.⁷⁵

As one victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry:

Healing for secondary victims

The need for healing extends beyond victim-survivors, to include their loved ones. Dr Joe Tucci, CEO, Australian Childhood Foundation, gave evidence to the Board of Inquiry that secondary victims’ role in supporting victim-survivors’ healing is under-appreciated.⁷⁷ Dr Tucci’s evidence suggested that secondary victims are offered very little support in their own right, ‘despite these people often being the most significant support for the victim-survivor’.⁷⁸

The Board of Inquiry heard that for some secondary victims, the inquiry’s work represented the beginning of their own process of healing. In some cases, this was because they had only learned about their loved ones’ experience of child sexual abuse in recent years.⁷⁹ In other cases, it was because they felt, for the first time, that they could share their own experience as a secondary victim, and their engagement with the Board of Inquiry had made them ‘feel a lot better’.⁸⁰

One secondary victim told the Board of Inquiry that they had first learned of their spouse’s experience of historical child sexual abuse less than three years before.⁸¹ This disclosure helped them understand some of their spouse’s behaviours, which included being non-responsive for days at a time and being unable to hug children in their family.⁸²

Another secondary victim said it took time to decide whether to share their own experience with the Board of Inquiry, but that they ultimately decided to share their story as a way to ‘offload’ some of what they have been carrying, and their worry about the future.⁸³

The healing process for secondary victims is complex.⁸⁴ Research suggests that healing and recovery for secondary victims is characterised by a ‘dependence on the healing of the primary victims’.⁸⁵ The healing process for victim-survivors is often ongoing, and secondary victims’ experiences of healing may be similarly protracted.⁸⁶ Further, their healing may be affected by their continuing role supporting their loved one.

A secondary victim told the Board of Inquiry about their need for ‘respite’ as they supported their spouse to heal from historical child sexual abuse. They shared their hope for a better future, saying: ‘Where to from now? For me and my family, I just hope onward and upward’.⁸⁷

Victim-survivors told the Board of Inquiry about their fears of burdening loved ones with their trauma.⁸⁸ However, a secondary victim responded directly to this point, saying:

Healing for affected communities

Communities can also be affected by historical child sexual abuse. The Board of Inquiry heard that ‘[s]exual abuse has long-term community and individual impact’.⁹⁰ A victim-survivor told the Board of Inquiry that healing both personally and as a community are critical.⁹¹ Another victim-survivor reflected: ‘that [Beaumaris] community, how do they cope? Because not everyone was bad’.⁹² Chapter 8, Enduring impacts of child sexual abuse(opens in a new window), explores the impacts of historical child sexual abuse on the community of Beaumaris and surrounding areas.

Ballarat is another example of a community deeply affected by historical child sexual abuse. John Crowley, former Principal of St Patrick’s College Ballarat, told the Board of Inquiry’s Healing Roundtable about engaging with victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse at the school, as well as some of their families, and realising that the impacts of the child sexual abuse were widespread. Mr Crowley told the Board of Inquiry: ‘in my view this was a situation where a community, a whole community was damaged, and that deep distrust and betrayal was not only embedded at the victim-survivor level, but through generational families and through the community’.⁹³

Mr Crowley spoke about how he believed St Patrick’s College was able to help some victim-survivors move forward in their lives through its commitment to acknowledging its past openly and truthfully through action; and how the apology that the school made for the ‘deep hurt’ the child sexual abuse caused was ‘not only to the victims and survivors, it was to the broader community of Ballarat’. Mr Crowley told the Board of Inquiry that as part the school’s work to address its past failings, he and current school staff, and later board members, met regularly with victim-survivors and their supporters, as well as community members, to discuss the school’s actions, responses and apology. He said that this was important to demonstrate that the school was ‘in this … for the long run’.⁹⁴

Bushfire recovery models provide an example of how communities can heal from collective trauma. Bruce Esplin AM, former Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner and former Chair of Regional Arts Victoria, gave evidence to the Board of Inquiry that ‘resilience and recovery build from the ground up’.⁹⁵ Mr Esplin believes that successful approaches to community healing and recovery are driven at a community level, and gave evidence about how engaging in creative activities can help individuals and communities heal from collective trauma.⁹⁶ Mr Esplin shared examples of how communities have used this model — called creative recovery — to heal from the Black Saturday bushfires, including by coming together to create mosaics, and to build and learn to play instruments that community members then used in local musical performances.⁹⁷

Healing responses must also be trauma-informed and shaped by engagement with victim-survivors, drawing on principles of co-design.⁹⁸ If communities engage with those community members who have experienced historical child sexual abuse about the responses they need, this will help victim-survivors recognise that they have a voice, and will support them to feel empowered and safe within their community.⁹⁹

Finding a way forward

The Board of Inquiry understands that healing is not a uniform process. As one victim-survivor noted: ‘it’s an individual journey’.¹⁰⁰

While no single action or approach will help all victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse in government schools to heal, support services and specific healing responses can play an important role in the process.

The evidence before the Board of Inquiry strongly suggests that there are some critical actions that can contribute to the healing process. These include:

• providing opportunities for recognition and acknowledgement of, and reflection on, historical child sexual abuse in government schools, its impacts and the strength of victim-survivors
• ensuring people have safe spaces to share their experiences
• ensuring the Department and Victorian Government demonstrate strong accountability for historical child sexual abuse, including being transparent about what happened, what government will do in response and how government will continue to work to protect children in school settings going forward
• providing support services that can contribute to victim-survivors’ healing.

What victim-survivors need from support services, including the challenges they face in having these needs met, is explored in detail in the chapters that follow. Chapter 16, Where people can go for support(opens in a new window), sets out what is available to victim-survivors. Chapter 17, Support needs and challenges(opens in a new window), explores the effectiveness of support services for victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse in government schools.

Recommendations about specific ways to contribute to healing are then discussed in Chapter 18(opens in a new window).

Chapter 15 Endnotes

1. Order in Council (Vic), ‘Appointment of a Board of Inquiry into Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Beaumaris Primary School and Certain Other Government Schools’, Victorian Government Gazette, No S 339, 28 June 2023, cl 3(d).
2. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
3. Judy A Glaister, ‘Healing: Analysis of the Concept’ (2001) 7(2) International Journal of Nursing Practice 63, 64.
4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2008 Social Justice Report (Report 1, 2009) 158.
5. Gregory Phillips, ‘Healing and Public Policy’ in Jon Altman and Melinda Hinkson (eds), Coercive Reconciliation: Stabilise, Normalise, Exit Aboriginal Australia (Arena Publications Association, 2007) 141, 149.
6. Kimberly Firth et al, ‘Healing, a Concept Analysis’ (2015) 4(6) Global Advances in Health and Medicine 44, 44.
7. Kimberly Firth et al, ‘Healing, a Concept Analysis’ (2015) 4(6) Global Advances in Health and Medicine 44, 44.
8. Kimberly Firth et al, ‘Healing, a Concept Analysis’ (2015) 4(6) Global Advances in Health and Medicine 44, 44.
9. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2008 Social Justice Report (Report 1, 2009) 153.
10. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2008 Social Justice Report (Report 1, 2009) 188.
11. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2008 Social Justice Report (Report 1, 2009) 188.
12. Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Balit Durn Durn: Strong Brain, Mind, Intellect and Sense of Self (Report, August 2020) 12.
13. Department of Health and Human Services (Vic), Balit Murrup: Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework 2017–2027 (Policy, 2017) 32.
14. Personal communication from Graham Gee, Registered Psychologist, Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, to Department of Health and Human Services (Vic), 1 March 2017, cited in Department of Health and Human Services (Vic), Balit Murrup: Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework 2017–2027 (Policy, 2017) 32.
15. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
16. Transcript of ‘Bernard’, 24 October 2023, P-35 [10]–[13].
17. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
18. Katie Schultz et al, ‘Key Roles of Community Connectedness in Healing from Trauma’ (2016) 6(1) Psychology of Violence 42, 42.
19. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
20. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
21. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
22. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Final Report, December 2017) vol 3, 224.
23. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Final Report, December 2017) vol 3, 227.
24. Transcript of Maureen Hatcher, 24 November 2023, P-296 [27]–[30].
25. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
26. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
27. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
28. Jonathan Tjandra, ‘From Fact Finding to Truth-Telling: An Analysis of the Changing Functions of Commonwealth Royal Commissions’ (2022) 45(1) University of New South Wales Law Journal 341, 341–2.
29. Transcript of Katie Wright, 24 October 2023, P-49 [7]–[9].
30. Transcript of Katie Wright, 24 October 2023, P-49 [11]–[14].
31. Transcript of Katie Wright, 24 October 2023, P-49 [35]–[39].
32. Private session 3.
33. Private session 14.
34. Private session 33.
35. Submission 17, 2.
36. Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings (Report, August 2023) vol 1, 50.
37. Hazel Blunden et al, ‘Victims/Survivors’ Perceptions of Helpful Institutional Responses to Incidents of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse’ (2021) 30(1) Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 56, 64.
38. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
39. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
40. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
41. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
42. Family and Community Development Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Betrayal of Trust: Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations (Report, November 2013) vol 1, xlix.
43. See e.g.: Private session 20; Private session 24; Private session 9.
44. Statement of Rob Gordon, 22 November 2023, 15–16 [64].
45. Private session 6; Private session 14.
46. Submission 29, Bravehearts, 5.
47. Private session 9; Private session 14.
48. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
49. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
50. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
51. Care Leavers of Australia Network, Submission No 22 to Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care (July 2003) 24.
52. Claire Burke Draucker and Kathleen Petrovic, ‘Healing of Adult Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse’ (1996) 28(4) Journal of Nursing Scholarship 325, 326.
53. Scott D Easton et al, ‘“From That Moment on My Life Changed”: Turning Points in the Healing Process for Men Recovering from Child Sexual Abuse’ (2015) 24(2) Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 152, 168.
54. Private session 31.
55. Maryam Kia-Keating, Lynn Sorsoli and Frances K Grossman, ‘Relational Challenges and Recovery Processes in Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse’ (2010) 25(4) Journal of Interpersonal Violence 666, 667; Kim M Anderson and Catherine Hiersteiner, ‘Recovering from Childhood Sexual Abuse: Is a “Storybook Ending” Possible?’ (2008) 36(5) American Journal of Family Therapy 413, 422; Brittany J Arias and Chad V Johnson, ‘Voices of Healing and Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse’ (2013) 22(7) Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 822, 836.
56. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
57. Private session 2.
58. Private session 6.
59. Submission 21, 2.
60. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023; Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
61. Private session 14.
62. Statement of ‘Bernard’, 19 October 2023, 4 [32].
63. Private session 20.
64. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
65. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
66. Submission 52.
67. Submission 52, 3.
68. Private session 3.
69. Private session 22.
70. Private session 2.
71. Submission 4, 1.
72. Submission 21, 1.
73. Statement of Patrick O’Leary, 15 November 2023, 6 [40].
74. Transcript of Patrick O’Leary, 16 November 2023, P-199 [46].
75. Transcript of Patrick O’Leary, 16 November 2023, P-199 [47], P-200 [1]–[2].
76. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
77. Statement of Joe Tucci, 21 November 2023, 14 [67].
78. Statement of Joe Tucci, 21 November 2023, 14 [65].
79. Private session 19.
80. Private session 30.
81. Private session 19.
82. Private session 19.
83. Private session 30.
84. Rory Remer and Robert A Ferguson, ‘Becoming a Secondary Survivor of Sexual Assault’ (1995) 73(4) Journal of Counseling and Development 407, 408.
85. Elaine Crabtree, Charlotte Wilson and Rosaleen McElvaney, ‘Childhood Sexual Abuse: Sibling Perspectives’ (2021) 36(5–6) Journal of Interpersonal Violence 3304, 3320.
86. Rory Remer and Robert A Ferguson, ‘Becoming a Secondary Survivor of Sexual Assault’ (1995) 73(4) Journal of Counseling and Development 407, 411.
87. Private session 30.
88. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
89. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
90. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
91. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
92. Lived Experience Perspectives Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 1 December 2023.
93. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
94. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
95. Transcript of Bruce Esplin, 24 November 2023, P-319 [38]–[39].
96. Transcript of Bruce Esplin, 24 November 2023, P-312 [9]–[26], [42]–[43].
97. Transcript of Bruce Esplin, 24 November 2023, P-315 [1]–[6].
98. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
99. Healing Roundtable, Record of Proceedings, 29 November 2023.
100. Private session 14.