Now that the Victorian governments decision to hold a very limited and inexperienced parliamentary inquiry that has no option or potential to bring the victims one step closer to justice and restitution has been put in place and with the realization coming to many as well as those affected that the opportunity to obtain justice and restitution for the abuses that were carried out against survivors when they were children have been washed away for the next 10 or 15 years it is to be expected that the suicides will continue with an increase expected.
The realization that they have once again been defrauded by their government will be one of the greatest suicide triggers these survivors will have ever faced.
After having their plight cited, quoted and repetitiously used to bolster the many positions in the survivor industry there are several things of note that are missing from the responses to the announcement of this inquiry.
Firstly, the processes that have led to more than 40 suicides is permitted to continue in the same manner as it has done in the past. The questionable operations of survivor groups, the so-called Independent Commission into Sexual Abuse set up and operated by the Catholic church, its support systems under the Melbourne process, the Towards Healing program are all permitted to continue to operate as though they played no part in the 40 plus suicides.
Second is the fact that the plight of the survivors and victims and their lack of justice and restitution has been a major topic in this regard yet no move anywhere has been made to set up a public fund to provide these victims with any form of appropriate assistance or support. Surely it is time for all the pundits who have had mileage from the plight of these victims to put up in the Australian way by establishing a public fund to show that there is a real meaning towards the survivors rather than the myriad of personal and religious motivations which predominate.
People whose lives were shattered as children, who have been shunned by their families and their religion for a lifetime.
From the survivors perspective their lifetime that has been filled with denial of their human right to justice and equality and they know their plight has once again exploited in the game both church and government play with the lives of children and those sexually abused.
When will the people of Australia say to both church and government that enough is enough; the answer to that perhaps lays in the question would Australians support a publicly managed fund to compensate survivors of sexual abuse by clergy now that access to that fundamental right has been pushed out for another 10 or 15 years by the Ballieu governments minimal approach to the problem of abuse carried out in the name of religion.
