NEW SOUTH WALES (AUSTRALIA)
Ilawarra Mercury
January 1, 2019
By Joanne McCarthy
A legal roadblock stopping child sexual abuse survivors from suing churches and other powerful institutions has been “condemned to the scrapheap” from today, said NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman.
NSW Government legislation abolishing the so-called “Ellis defence” takes effect from today after more than a decade where it blocked many survivors from seeking justice against the institutions that failed them.
“I’m pleased my first item of business in 2019 is to condemn the ‘Ellis defence’ to the scrapheap and create a fairer civil litigation system for all child abuse survivors,” Mr Speakman said.
The “Ellis defence” was a legal precedent set in 2007 when former altar boy John Ellis lost a landmark civil action against the Catholic Church for child sexual abuse.
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