IGFF Response to Report of Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in Beaumaris Primary School and certain other government schools.
IGFF thanks and acknowledges the courage and bravery of Survivors whose testimony was provided to the Inquiry and will help drive necessary change. We also acknowledge the work of the Inquiry team members who undertook this complex work with great resolve and an awareness of the deep-seated trauma held in these impacted communities.
In recognising the hard work and tireless advocacy of many, IGFF also recognises those who were unable to participate in this Inquiry and offers them our support. IGFF appreciates that the voices of many who have been impacted by abuse in similar school settings voices were not heard through this process and the hurt associated with this.
Whilst the Inquiry’s findings offer a starting point for accountability, many of the issues examined in this Inquiry offer a microcosm example, emblematic of much deeper, systematic issues that require a much more profound accounting for historic and contemporaneous harms withinVictoria’s educational system.
It would be negligent to ignore the widespread and devastating harm that occurred beyond the restricted parameters of the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference, and it is incumbent upon the Government as they navigate this complex terrain of healing and accountability to extend the opportunity to engage in a formal process to all Survivors’.
This Report and its recommendations offer a much broader opportunity to recommit to a future where every Survivors’ story is recognised, every voice heard, and justice becomes a tangible reality rather than a distant promise.
IGFF calls upon the Victorian Government to articulate concrete steps towards achieving all these recommendations and adequately funding a specialist sexual assault support service for all those impacted by institutional abuse.
Clare Leaney
Chief Executive Officer
In Good Faith Foundation (IGFF)
