Geelong Grammar seeks to heal wounds with survivor coordinator for child sex abuse victims

By Freya Michie
ABC News
October 23, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-22/geelong-grammar-to-heal-wounds-with-child-sex-abuse-survivors/7956892

Geelong Grammar had a past subculture of abuse, according to many who attended the school

Jonathan Harvey was among the teachers named at last year's royal commission.

Teacher John Hamilton Buckley admitted to sexually abusing half a dozen students in the 1980s.

Prestigious independent Victorian school Geelong Grammar says it wants to encourage survivors of past child abuse at the school who have not yet come forward to contact them for "guidance and support".

In a letter to all parents, the school announced it had appointed a new "survivor liaison coordinator" to help support those who were sexually abused at the school.

Principal Stephen Meek said the school believed there were former students who were survivors of past child abuse who had not yet come forward.

He said those people could be reluctant to come forward, because they did not want to speak to the school which they held responsible for their abuse.

Last year, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard how Geelong Grammar once had a subculture of brutality where children were sexually abused by staff and bullies.

Counsel assisting the royal commission David Lloyd said five former staff from Geelong Grammar had been convicted of sexual abuse, including former live-in boarding house assistant Phillippe Trutmann, who abused more than 40 students between 1985 and 1996.

Other former staff convicted included Graham Leslie Dennis, teacher and boarding house master John Hamilton Buckley, and former teachers Jonathan Harvey and Stefan van Vuuren.

The commission also heard details of allegations against school chaplains, other teachers and former students.

It heard senior staff, including at least two former principals, covered up the abuse.

Mr Meek said he was not able to state how many former students had come forward to report sexual abuse, nor could he say how many more might come forward due to the appointment of the survivor

liaison coordinator.

But he said members of the school community were pleased the school was taking what he called a "proactive stance".

He said the new role was the major recommendation of an independent "recognition committee" headed by consultant Dr David Moore.

"It's not a counsellor and it's not a legal role, it's actually about encouraging people to come forward and to have an independent person to whom they can come forward and tell the story which they haven't ever told the school before and as a way of helping them move forward," he said.

"As a school and as a community we don't want to feel that any of our community are continuing to suffer from what happened in the past.

"I think people have a genuine compassion and a genuine desire to ensure that we can do what we can as a school to make sure that we can help people and support them."