Tory Shepherd: What’s important is Australia stands behind all child-abuse survivors as they stand up and speak out
It’s baffling that some would still support convicted paedophile George Pell, writes Tory Shepherd. Now we must stand behind survivors as they stand up to abusers.
- Court dismisses Pell child sex abuse appeal
- What happened in court when Pell learned his fate
- Parents owe Catholic school students the truth on Pell
- Judges demolish Pell’s defence
Could you do it? Could you stand up in court and make an accusation of sex abuse against one of Australia’s – even the world’s – most powerful men?
Witness J did. He says after going to the funeral of his childhood friend, the other choirboy Cardinal George Pell abused, he felt he had to. He knew his friend had been in a dark place. He was in a dark place. He felt a responsibility to shine some light.
Today, Pell lost his appeal against child sex offence convictions. Last year a jury unanimously found him guilty of offending against the two 13-year-old boys. He was sentenced to six years’ prison.
Witness J was found to be “a compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist and was a witness of truth”. Pell lost the appeal, but will now take it to the High Court.
Could you keep telling and retelling the story of your abuse, through court cases, through character assassinations, for four years?
Witness J has gone through all of that. As Cardinal George Pell (and yes, it sticks in the craw to keep calling him that – send your complaints to The Vatican) refused to face the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, as he sat supercilious during questioning, as his powerful friends rallied to his side.
Witness J, unnamed, but finally heard, kept reliving the trauma.
Countless unseen and unheard victims have gone through it with him.
Australia’s Royal Commission heard about 4444 incidents of child sexual abuse – in the Catholic Church alone.
The average age of the victims was 10.5 for girls, and 11.6 for boys. They were mostly boys.
Children who are sexually abused are three times more likely to commit suicide later in life. Many children never disclose their abuse – on average, it takes about a quarter of a century to raise your hand and say “me, too”.
So that 4444 – already a devastating number – is not the end of it. Then there is the abuse in other churches, other institutions, and in homes around Australia. The scale is unknowable, unimaginable and intolerable.
And those survivors have watched as Witness J kept on. Many would have been reliving their own abuse. Many would have wondered if they should come forward. Some of those would have seen the Pell case and decided not to.
There are some out there who regret coming forward because of the impact it had on them and their families.
Witness J said (through his lawyer) that the four years after he reported the abuse had been “stressful”.
That seems like an understatement, considering he goes on to say: “The journey has taken me to places that, in my darkest moments, I feared I could not return from.”
“The justice machine rolls on with all of its processes and punditry, almost forgetting about the people at the heart of the matter,” he wrote.
“I would like to acknowledge my friend who passed away, the other choirboy, and pay my deep respect to him and to his family. I would like to acknowledge the courage of those people who reported to the police. For one reason or another, your cases were not advanced. My heart goes out to all of you.”
Pell is set to lose his Order of Australia – pending the outcome of a High Court challenge he plans to launch. It’s hard to see the Pope letting him stay in the priesthood.
The mighty have fallen, hard.
There’s a coterie of Pell sympathisers who cried out as he headed back to prison today. It’s baffling they choose to concentrate on the trials of the powerful one instead of the tribulations of the thousands of vulnerable.
Still, they have their faith.
What’s important, now, is that Australia stands behind all survivors as they stand up and speak out. Or finds ways to support them if they choose not to.
That we never forget the Royal Commission’s findings, and the blindness of those who would not see.
If you need help, call Reach Out on 1800 737 132. Adult survivors can call Blue Knot on 1300 657 380. The National Redress Scheme is on 1800 737 377.