Over the past month, the IGFF team have been busy organising events, responding to updates and, as always, providing crucial support and advocacy services to Survivors and those impacted by institutional abuses. This newsletter discusses the first Melbourne Victims’ Collective meeting of 2022, recent reports and publications, and other important news.
If you would like to talk to a member of our team about anything in this newsletter, or check-in with a Caseworker, you can contact IGFF by calling 1300 12 4433 or emailing [email protected].
For more information and regular updates you can check out our website, Facebook page, LinkedIn or Youtube.
Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Criminal Justice System
This past month, the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Criminal Justice System released its major report, making over 100 recommendations for change.
We made two submissions to the Inquiry, one focusing on a range of policy issues, and the other looking into the continued practice of some victim-Survivors being cross-examined by self-represented perpetrators.
We appreciate the Inquiry’s engagement with our suggestions, and the continued push for making justice pathways more accessible, and recognising the impact of institutional abuse on all those affected. As the report stated:
“In Good Faith Foundation discussed the trauma that victim-witnesses experience when providing evidence, particularly during cross-examination. It believed that there is a ‘clear power imbalance’ between defence counsel and the victim-witness during cross-examination which often contributes to ‘re-traumatisation and the sense of injustice experienced by many victim-survivors’”
The full report can be found online here: https://parliament.vic.gov.au/lsic-lc/article/4534
This video discusses the report’s key proposals for reform involving victims and vulnerable Victorians
Melbourne Victims’ Collective Meeting
At the first MVC meeting of 2021, we heard updates from Leanne McGaw, Manager of Redress Policy and Children and Families Support at the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, who spoke to the National Redress Scheme in Victoria, with a particular focus on counselling services.
The meeting also included a presentation from knowmore’s Amy Griffiths, Senior Lawyer and Jade Johnson, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Senior Engagement Advisor who spoke about knowmore’s services, recent updates, and options for both the National Redress Scheme and other justice pathways.
If you would like to find out more about the MVC, you can get in touch with IGFF on 1300 12 4433 or by emailing [email protected].
De La Salle College Dedication and Memorial Commemoration: 21 March 2021
March marked the one year anniversary of the De La Salle College Dedication and Memorial Commemoration to acknowledge Survivors of historic abuse and to advocate for transparency and child safety for all future generations of De La Salle students.
You can view images from the event here: https://igff.org.au/de-la-salle-college-memorial-to-survivors-commemoration/
In recent News…
Victoria announces redress scheme for those affected by historical forced adoption practices
The Victorian government this month announced that they are going to design a redress scheme to support people affected by forced adoptions, although the specifics remain unclear. While it is being designed, funds have been set up to be used as support, particularly for mothers of forced adoptions facing exceptional circumstances such as terminal illness.
As one mother, Jo Fraser, said to the ABC:
“I was a mother, but a mother who didn’t know where or how her son was.
I didn’t know if he was dead or alive, I didn’t know if he was loved or well-cared for.
I didn’t even know if he’d actually been adopted, but there was no way of telling anybody that because it was a deep, dark secret.
Having your baby taken away from you is an incredibly traumatic experience, and there’s been little done in the way of helping women with their mental health issues.”
‘Australia is finally having a crucial conversation about sexual abuse. But let’s not forget about male victim-survivors’, ABC News
In this opinion piece, Craig Hughes-Cashmore, the managing director and chief executive of Survivors & Mates Support Network discusses their crucial work supporting male Survivors, and the importance of addressing the shame and stigma that prevents men from speaking out and seeking help.
As he writes:
“It is imperative that all governments fully invest in specialist services to engage with survivors who are struggling. The social and economic costs of not doing so affect us all. This is a human rights issue. All survivors deserve to be reminded that we see them, they matter, and that hope is not lost.”
‘Not Waving, Drowning’, Quarterly Essay
In the current issue of the Quarterly Essay, Sarah Krasnostein writes about the intersections of the mental health, criminal justice and social systems in Australia. She tells the stories of three women and their treatment by the state, discussing the potential for systemic change.
‘The abusers hiding their money in super’, The Monthly
This 7am podcast episode with Bri Lee discusses issues around Survivors being unable to seek compensation from individual perpetrators, when their assets have been hidden in superannuation funds where it cannot be reached.
As Lee states:
“You know, in some very practical ways, for a lot of these people struggling, it is just about the cash and about living a comfortable life. But for a lot of them, it’s not really about the money, it’s about encountering a justice system that was not designed to hear their complaints. It’s about trying to find any possible way of of feeling like even a sliver of justice might be done to acknowledge the enormous hurt and damage that was done by a perpetrator.”
