MP Stuart Grimley backs government funding of Ballarat sexual abuse memorial

An MP has thrown his weight behind the creation of a memorial in Ballarat for sexual abuse survivors that would be of “national significance”.

A Victorian upper house MP has thrown his weight behind the creation of a memorial in Ballarat for the victims of sexual abuse and violence.

The Continuous Voices Arts Project, to be placed near the lake adjacent to Plane Avenue in Victoria Park, is expected to cost $1.5 million, with the City of Ballarat putting in $520,000.

The idea for the public art memorial was born when Blake Curran set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds.

Mr Curran’s late father was the victim of three Catholic priests, spurring the son to advocate for a memorial dedicated to all sufferers of sexual abuse.

The Continuous Voices Community Reference Group now spearheads the project alongside the City of Ballarat, the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, LOUD Fence Inc., and more.

“Initially I was just doing it to spark a conversation I suppose, which brought the council in,” Mr Curran said.

“For years there’s been discussions with different advocacy groups and survivor groups to try and get something happening.

“To work alongside the council through the public arts team has been fantastic – finally the amazing lake space in Victoria Park was chosen.”

The memorial is still in the design stage: Continuous Voices has been looking at memorials across the state to determine how best to appropriately mark the topic of sexual abuse.

The natural setting of Victoria Park was selected for its tranquillity, and Mr Curran said the site may be suitable to host workshops and annual commemoration events.

“It is of national significance,” he said.

“There’s been people from all over Australia donating to the GoFundMe and it’s going to be a huge space for people to come visit tourism-wise as well.

“If people need to come to a place to reflect and connect with their own journeys, this place should hopefully be it, rather than just the national institutionalised abuse [memorial] in Canberra.

“There’s been a few people saying that they just want a statue in the middle of Sturt Street but everyone who’s been involved in the project has said, ‘Well how are you supposed to have a good cry in the middle of Sturt Street if you need it?”

The City of Ballarat, which has committed to a financial plan for implementing the memorial from 2022 to 2025, is seeking government or philanthropic funding to make up the difference.

Western Victoria MP Stuart Grimley of Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party said he would lobby the state government to contribute money towards the construction of the memorial.

“This is of huge importance, not just to the Ballarat community, but to victim-survivors in other areas in Victoria,” he said.

“Many victim-survivors and their families still live nearby, and this memorial will give them the opportunity to reflect and also to remember their loved ones.”

As for the possibility of the Catholic Church contributing, Mr Curran said he would prefer the organisation’s money be directed down other avenues.

“There’s been lots of discussions among the survivors who were affected by the church in particular,” he said.

“This space is for abuse victims everywhere, but it was the fact that the church, to me, hasn’t given two hoots about any of the victims really, and they’ve had to fight for compensation.

“The money wouldn’t want to be accepted – I think it should be going to other programs such as mental health programs or compensation to victims.

“It would be like, ‘Well, we’ve done our bit now we’ve paid for a memorial.’”

Anybody wishing to contribute to Continuous Voices can get in touch through Facebook.