Dale Mills
The Queensland Labor government has dismissed recommendations that adult survivors of child abuse be financially compensated. At the moment there is a legal limitation period, meaning that someone cannot normally bring an action beyond their 21st birthday.
In its 410-page Forgotten Australians report, released on August 30, a Senate committee recommended that Queensland law be changed. There are many reasons why a person suffering from the trauma of child abuse might not be able to launch legal action in their late teens, when they might want to forget about the abuse as much as possible. As people reach their 20s and beyond, the effect of the abuse, as well as on-going costs of counseling, might become clearer.
On June 16, the NSW Court of Appeal ruled that sexual abuse was not compensable unless it could by shown that there was some further injury or harm. In that case, the mother of the children refused to subject the children to psychological assessment because the children had already received treatment and she did not want her children to go through the trauma of reliving the experience. There was no doubt that they were in fact abused, as their assailant pleased guilty.
Karen Willis, manager of the NSW Rape Crisis Centre, told Green Left Weekly that she was appalled at the court's decision. "NSW Health's own documentation [has] detailed the psychological and emotional injuries of sexual assault victims", she said. "I have been able to speak to members of the legal profession, some of whom are not even aware of the court's ruling and can't believe it when I tell them."
From Green Left Weekly, September 29, 2004.
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