AUSTRALIA
PerthNow
Peter Law, PerthNow
January 28, 2017
CHILD sex abuse is expected to cost the Anglican diocese of Perth more than $1 million over just three years.
Settlement payments to victims of abuse by clergy or church staff in WA soared in the past year, an internal church report reveals.
But the Perth diocese this week refused to say how many complaints of child sex abuse it had received, how many allegations were reported to WA police, how many victims received settlements or what confidentiality restrictions were attached to payments.
The Diocesan Council Report to Synod 2016 shows costs associated with settlement, counselling for victims and legals fees was expected to total $432,800 in 2016-17. The figure is $263,739 more than the original budget.
This was due to “increased claims as a result of referrals” from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the document shows.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.