BishopAccountability.org

Push for Sexual Assaults Inquiry

By Esther Han
Sydney Morning Herald
April 19, 2012

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/push-for-sexual-assaults-inquiry-20120418-1x7i0.html

Advocacy groups are demanding a state parliamentary inquiry into sex assaults in religious organisations.

THE NSW Greens and advocacy groups for victims of sexual abuse are demanding a state parliamentary inquiry into sex assaults in religious organisations, comparable to the one announced by the Victorian government this week.

THE NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge implored the O'Farrell government to recognise that sexual abuse was rampant outside Victoria and needed the same scrutiny.

"It's the only way to address an appalling history of sexual abuse," he said. "Openness and honesty is the only way both the church and survivors can recover."

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Nikki Wells, founder of Survivors Australia, said a NSW inquiry focusing on the "mishandling of abuse claims" was urgently needed.

"The victims are subjected to grave abuse because these institutions want to protect two things: their power and their wealth," she said.

The Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu, launched the inquiry on Tuesday following revelations that 40 members of the Catholic Church in Victoria had committed suicide.

While Ms Wells commended Mr Baillieu for being a "trailblazer", she also revealed reactions from victims were mixed.

"Some are ecstatic but some are dubious about its independence and transparency," she said.

Leonie Sheedy, chief executive of Care Leavers Australia Network, which represents state wards, warned NSW should not duplicate the Victorian inquiry and instead have its own.

The fact four of the six politicians conducting the Victorian inquiry were first-term MPs showed it "lacked teeth".

"The inquiry needs to be judicial, led by a retired judge, such as the former Supreme Court judge Philip Cummins," she said. "It's unacceptable that they're discriminating against care leavers."

The Catholic Church has conveyed a united front with the archdiocese of Sydney, standing behind the Melbourne Archbishop, Denis Hart, who promised full co-operation.




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