Child-sex abuse victims advocate and Australian of the year nominee Chrissie Foster

By Rachel Baxendale
Australian
January 10, 2019

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Child-sex abuse victims advocate and Australian of the year nominee Chrissie Foster. Photo by David Geraghty

Twenty-three years and three family tragedies later, Ms Foster’s story moved Scott Morrison to tears as he gave a national apology to child-sex abuse victims.

Side by side with her late husband Anthony, the 63-year-old has been a fierce advocate for child-sex abuse victims, playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the Victorian parliamentary inquiry and national royal commission into the issue.

It is for this tireless work in the face of unfathomable adversity that Ms Foster has been nominated for The Australian’s Australian of the Year award.

In 1999, the Fosters’ daughter, Katie, was hit by a drunk driver, leaving her physically and mentally disabled and requiring constant care.

Struggling to deal with the abuse she and her sister Emma had suffered at the hands of pedophile priest Kevin O’Donnell as children, Kate had become a binge drinker.

Less than a decade later, in 2008, Emma took her own life.

The Fosters channelled their grief into fighting for justice, first securing compensation from the Catholic Church after a long and arduous legal battle, and eventually persuading politicians to hold state and federal inquiries.

Anthony Foster died suddenly after a brain haemorrhage in May 2017, at 64.

Ms Foster said the recognition of the issue of child-sex abuse and changing attitudes towards victims gave her hope that their work had been worthwhile.

Child abuse prevention expert Chris Goddard said Ms Foster was his hero. “Ironically, I often say she’s like a saint,” Professor Goddard said. “She’s an eloquent, brave, articulate campaigner. She should be Australian of the century.”