AUSTRALIA
Courier
By MELISSA CUNNINGHAM
March 6, 2016
Their extraordinary bond was formed under the most harrowing of circumstances.
They call each other “brothers.” They call themselves survivors.
They’re the the men who form Ballarat’s Centre Against Sexual Assault mens’ survivor group.
All have survived sexual abuse in some form but many suffered it at the hands of Ballarat clergy.
Since it was established in 2013 in response to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse the highly successful CASA men’s group has grown to more than a 100 members.
Behind the scenes, CASA senior counsellor Andrea Lockhart has worked tirelessly for years, directly with the men to rebuild their shattered lives.
Many of the men credit her with bringing them “back from the brink”.
Last week, Ms Lockhart was right beside them on arguably their biggest step in their a journey so far: A trip to Rome to bear witness to Cardinal George Pell’s evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
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