More Child Abuse Survivors Aged over 60 Seeking Help, Support Group Says on Blue Knot Day
By Ursula Malone
More than a quarter of people calling a helpline for adult survivors of child abuse are now over the age of 60, a leading support group says. The figures have been released to mark Blue Knot Day, which aims to raise awareness of the estimated five million Australians who have suffered childhood trauma and abuse. "We're seeing more people in older age groups coming forward, and what we believe that relates to is the Royal Commission (into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse)," said Dr Cathy Kezelman, President of Adults Surviving Child Abuse. "Older people who may have kept this secret their entire life are now ringing up and reaching and seeking help. "We have people in their 80s ringing our line and saying they have never told a soul, but then hearing how it has profoundly affected their life." Support group says findings lend new urgency for redress scheme Dr Kezelman said the findings on the age of those seeking help lent new urgency to calls for the government to support a national redress scheme, as recommended by the royal commission. "People aren't getting any younger; people have waited for decades to be heard and find some justice and some support," she said. "It's time for the Federal Government to show leadership, to commit, to talk to the states and then the institutions so we have a scheme that is equitable and fair." Lawyer Simon Cole, who specialises in compensation cases for survivors of child abuse, said he was abused by a scoutmaster at the age of 10. "It's a moment in time the abuse itself. I have a very clear memory of the sheer panic and feelings of powerlessness," he said. He is now 52 but the abuse continues to haunt him. "It's certainly affected my schooling and my self-esteem," he said.
"Those issues have followed me in various ways throughout my adult life." He said financial redress delivered through a national scheme would go some way toward making amends. "The royal commission has seen tens of thousands of victims come forward," he said. "I think they have bravely told their stories and certainly regard it as important that they receive restorative justice including compensation for the pain and suffering that they've experienced in their life, and also for the economic loss." Care Leavers Australia Network spokeswoman Leonie Sheedy said recognition of the harm done was long overdue. "How many more horror stories do we have to hear before our country will say yes, these people are worthy of justice and redress?" she said. "People are dying, they don't have good health, they are not long-livers, and there's a lot of anxiety in care leaver land about how they will pay for their funerals." The Federal Government said it was considering the royal commission's report on redress and will respond by the end of the year.
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