AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Tuesday 3 February 2015
The orthodox Jewish community has responded to allegations of child sex abuse within their institutions with “moral destitution” and by “turning on the victim”, the wife of a man who was abused by religious leaders said.
Her testimony to the royal commission into institutional responses into child sex abuse on Tuesday followed evidence from other victims and their families, who also described being attacked and ostracised after coming forward.
The witness, identified only as AVC, said the abuse of her husband occurred while he was a student at the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne, but he only gained the strength to speak up as an adult.
“As a spouse of a victim and whistleblower, I feel hated and isolated in my community,” she told the commission at Victoria’s county court. “I have lost faith in the leadership of the Jewish community.”
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