AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
January 16, 2016
Shannon Deery
Herald Sun
SEX assault victims are being forced to wait up to six months for counselling because of a funding crisis gripping services.
Waiting lists have blown out since the Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into child abuse started in 2012 with hundreds of people unable to tap into urgent help.
Experts say waiting lists are now at record levels, with a spike in referrals because of the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
Some victims have turned to staging mini protests as a cry for help, with one man recently hijacking a Catholic Church service in a desperate plea for help.
Paul Levey, who was abused by notorious paedophile Gerald Ridsdale, interrupted the mass last month to lobby the church to offer more funding for victim counselling.
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