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…