AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
October 31, 2018
By Joseph Dunstan
Key points:
– A lawyer says there are likely “hundreds” of abuse survivors hoping to put old settlements aside
– The Coalition has committed to introducing laws giving survivors a chance for fresh compensation
– Labor says the idea of new legislation has “merit” and it will consider an interstate example
“I’ve had this trouble with being able to stick at things … it was just one crisis after another over the past 30-odd years,” he says.
The sexual abuse Phil O’Leary suffered as a child has followed him throughout his life.
He cites broken relationships, abandoned career and study opportunities and a conviction for white collar crime as just some of the legacies of his abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest.
“I’ve had this trouble with being able to stick at things … it was just one crisis after another over the past 30-odd years,” he says.
The abuse started when the priest began to visit his family home when he was 14.
“[The priest] groomed my parents as much as me, to inveigle himself into the family, being invited over for dinner and lunches, things like that,” Mr O’Leary says.
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