AUSTRALIA
SBS
By Debi Marshall
13 APR 2016
There is light at the end of a very dark tunnel for female sexual and physical assault victims of Australia”s worst paedophile priest, Fr Gerald Ridsdale and other Catholic clergy, including nuns stationed in Ballarat. Following the SBS Online feature, ‘The girls, the paedophile and Cardinal Pell’ in February and the recent Royal Commission revelations that the Ballarat diocese was a hotbed of cover-ups and paedophilia, CASA (the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault) is now, for the first time seeking expressions of interest for a support group to offer assistance to female survivors. Manager of the Ballarat CASA, Shireen Gunn, says while there has long been a support group for males, they have now identified that a number of female survivors also need ongoing support. “We believe that group work is an important part of assisting recovery to break down isolation,” she says.
No one welcomes the news more than Gabbi Short, now 60, who was regarded as a “lifer” at the Nazareth House Girls Home. She describes her time at the orphanage as a “living hell”; a daily battle for survival. Prey to unceasing violence from sadistic nuns – one in particular – Ms Short was just three years old between 1993 and 1994 when a young Fr Ridsdale, then chaplain of the school, ruled the orphanage with an iron fist. “Ridsdale chose girls on a daily basis to sexually abuse. The nuns knew what was going on and either turned a blind eye or helped clean the girls up after he had finished with them.” The depraved sexual abuse and violence inflicted on numerous girls has had lifelong repercussions for many. “It has shattered so many lives,” Ms Short says. “Who knows how many of those orphans have committed suicide or died from illnesses brought on by post-traumatic stress. This is an opportunity to save lives.”
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