Whether memories of ‘stories you’ve heard of‘, rumours told by past teachers, or your own actual experiences: past “Issues” are being charted in this map.
From the updated aerial map of BBC’s layout, now is our chance to mark out WHERE ‘suspicious activity‘ happened?! This Toowong map has been trimmed to include the neighbouring borders of most of BBC. The yellow ball, accross from the P&F Oval, Miskin Oval and next to Oakman Park. Red ‘X’ mark locations of identified events: will be Updated ASAP!
“Appearances can change, yet some memories can last forever”
Image retrieved from Proposed Development at 23 Union St, TARINGA. (City Shape & The Urban Developer)
Childhood amnesia, also calledinfantile amnesia, is the inability of adults toretrieveepisodic memories(memories of situations or events) before the age of two to four years, as well as the period before the age of ten of which adults retain fewermemoriesthan might otherwise be expected given the passage of time.[1]The development of a cognitive self is also thought by some to have an effect on encoding and storing early memories.[2]
Some research has demonstrated that children can remember events from the age of one, but that these memories may decline as children get older.[3][4][5]Most psychologists differ in defining the offset of childhood amnesia. Some define it as the age from which a first memory can be retrieved. This is usually at the age of three or four, but it can range from two to eight years.[6][7][8]
Changes in encoding, storage and retrieval of memories during early childhood are all important when considering childhood amnesia.[9]
Approaching the end of June 20, itâs the rollover of another year on many levels. âMid-year madnessâ is a common title given to Sales, states-of-mind, emotions, shortest seasonal day (Winter Solstice), School holidays have begun, unexpected losses of home isolation & COVID19âs impact is expected to continue; contrasting with Australia & New Zealand being awarded the Womensâ World Cup 2023 by FIFA! So, life goes on.
In this Mid-year madness, weâre pleased to be bringing our growing audience (currently 1,422) the 2nd + 3rd in a series of 6 Editions of Anne Waldherrâs Unbiblical series. These may be suitably timed, as each of RCbbcâs releases have seen a global leap in readers of our site. There have been occasional messages, which allow conversations to be shared.
As seen by our planned eNews, there have been notable jumps in visitors + countries, related to the varying Topics. Since our last eNews, we have covered:
The understanding of a âRipple effectâ of CSA Predators, continues throughout society. The resources to challenge this issue cannot be easily sorted. These pieces of data will continue to be shared. The imbalances that the church-military-politics have had for millenniums cannot easily be changed. These will be an unexpected form of âLet Honor Stainless Beâ, by demanding justice for ourselves and our effected families.
Feedback Received – re: NRS
Anna Waldherr (avoicereclaimed & âunbiblicalâ) : It is good to know such a Scheme has been established. You may at times stand a lonely vigil. But the information you provide is essential.
This newsletter outlines arrangements for the second anniversary review of the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme).
Should you find any of the content in this newsletter confronting or distressing, remember support is available.To find out more, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au/support.
Second anniversary review
The Scheme was established on 1 July 2018. With the second anniversary approaching, an independent review is being conducted to consider how the Scheme is working for survivors and other stakeholders.
The review will undertake consultations from July 2020 until September 2020. Consultations will initially be in the form of a submissions process and a survey.
The review is wide-ranging and will consider the implementation and operation of the Scheme, how survivors experience the Scheme, access to Redress Support Services and to counselling and psychological care as well as financial arrangements.
An independent reviewer, Ms Robyn Kruk AO, will undertake the review. Ms Kruk was the Independent Assessor of the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce and is currently the Chair of Mental Health Australia. In 2018, Ms Kruk was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to public administration, including mental health reform.
To help us improve the Scheme, we encourage survivors, advocates and other stakeholders to share their experiences of the Scheme by making a submission to the review. It is critical that survivors are at the centre of the review and the review captures what matters to them most.
Information about how you can make a submission to the review will be provided at a later date.
For further information about the second anniversary review, please see the media release about the review from Senator Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services: https://ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/5901.
BLUE KNOT FOUNDATION FACT SHEET FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED CHILDHOOD TRAUMA (INCLUDING ABUSE)
1 Childhood trauma stems from overwhelming negative experiences in early life. It can take many forms (eg. sexual,emotional,physicalabuseandneglect).Itcanalso occur without abuse if early caregivers were unable to meet your emotional needs (e.g. because they had unresolved trauma histories themselves).
2 Unresolved childhood trauma negatively impacts 8 health and well-being in adulthood. It affects both emotional and physical health (the whole personâ) and the full impacts may not become apparent until years later.
3 It is possible to heal from childhood trauma. Research shows that with the right support, even severe early life trauma can be resolved. It also shows that when an adult has resolved their childhood trauma, it benefits their children or the children they may later have. Children develop coping mechanisms to deal with the effects of childhood trauma. It is normal to want to feel better, and if you were traumatised as a child the need to escapeâ feelings can be intense.
4 Effects of childhood trauma include anxiety, depression, health problems (emotional and physical), disconnection, isolation, confusion, being âspaced outâ, and fear of intimacy and new experiences. There 10 is no one size fits allâ, but reduced quality of life is a constant.
5 Survivors are often on âhigh alertâ. Even minor stress can trigger âout of proportionâ responses. Your body continues to react as if you are still in danger, and this can be explained in terms of unresolved prior experience.
6 Survivors often struggle with shame and self-blame. But childhood trauma and its established effects are NOT your fault, even though you may feel otherwise (often because this is what you were encouraged to believe as a child when you were vulnerable and still developing).
7 Self-blame can be especially strong if you experienced any positive physical sensations (which is not an uncommon body response) in relation to abuse you have undergone. Physical reaction to sexual abuse does NOT mean desire for, or agreement to, it. Children cannot consent to, much less âcauseâ, sexual or other forms of abuse.
8 Children develop coping mechanisms to deal with the effects of childhood trauma. It is normal to want to feel better, and if you were traumatised as a child the need to `escapeâ feelings can be intense.
9 Coping mechanisms develop for a reason, serve a purpose, and can be highly effective in the short term. But some methods of coping (e.g. excessive alcohol use) can be risky in themselves. Addictions (to food, sex, drugs), avoidance of contact with others (which reinforces isolation) and compulsive behaviours of various kinds (in attempts to run from the underlying problem which, because it is unaddressed, doesnât go away) are all ways people try to cope.
10 Coping mechanisms develop for a reason, serve a purpose, and can be highly effective in the short term. But some methods of coping (e.g. excessive alcohol use) can be risky in themselves. Addictions (to food, sex, drugs), avoidance of contact with others (which reinforces isolation) and compulsive behaviours of various kinds (in attempts to run from the underlying problem which, because it is unaddressed, doesnât go away) are all ways people try to cope.
11 Coping mechanisms develop for a reason, serve a purpose, and can be highly effective in the short term. But some methods of coping (e.g. excessive alcohol use) can be risky in themselves. Addictions (to food, sex, drugs), avoidance of contact with others (which reinforces isolation) and compulsive behaviours of various kinds (in attempts to run from the underlying problem which, because it is unaddressed, doesnât go away) are all ways people try to cope.
St Kevin’s headmaster Stephen Russell resigns over character reference for paedophile (The Guardian)
St Kevin’s College headmaster resigns, dean of sport stood down following grooming scandal (ABC News)
Building to break, with awaiting surfers
Grooming has also appeared amongst numerous Journalist Publications, continuing the traditional reluctance to acceptance of genuine alterations required following the Final Report of the 13-17 #CARC. This Final Report is available for viewing at the URL: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/final-report
To those whoâve kept up-to-date with some of the BBC situations (Buchanan, Golding, Bradley and Lloyd) may recognise some similarities (parallels); Those past Students / âOld Boysâ (sorry if offended) reminded of other Elite Schools mentioned during âBoys Clubâ; Parents of current and past BBC enrolments; most importantly surviving families of Deceased / Suicided / Drug-effected / Care-facilitated BBC Graduates / Past-enrolled : Your losses are shared by many others! Youâre definitely not alone, with facilities of Compensation/Redress, Public Apologies and Counselling available to ALL.
As of 1 November 2019, the National Redress Scheme:
had received over 5,290 applications
made around 716 decisions â including 708 payments, totalling over $56.9 million
made over 98 offers of redress, and applicants have six months to consider their offer of redress
was processing over 3,470 applications, with 604 applications on hold because one or more institution named in the application had not yet joined and about 309 applications requiring additional information from the applicant.
As of 1 November, the average payment was $80,466.
In July, August and September of this year more people received redress than in the first year of the Scheme.
From 1 July 2019 to 1 November 2019, 477 applications were finalised, resulting in 469 payments.
Participating institutions update
All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible. As of 1 November, there were 67 non-government institutions participating in the National Redress Scheme, covering over 41,900 individual sites, such as churches, schools, charities, community groups and clubs. In October, a number of new institutions, organisations and religious orders completed the necessary steps to join the Scheme. They are now participating in the redress scheme.
The following institutions have completed the steps to join the Scheme:
Berry Street Victoria (Vic)
Confraternity of Christ the Priest (NSW, Qld and Vic)
Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God (NSW, Qld and Vic)
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, Vic and WA)
SCEGGS Darlinghurst Limited (NSW)
Sisters of the Good Samaritan (ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic and WA)
The additions to the Anglican Church of Australia participating group were:
Anglican Property Trust Diocese of Bathurst (NSW)
Anglicare WA (WA)
The addition to the Baptist Churches of Victoria participating group was North Balwyn Baptist Church.
The additions to the Baptist Churches of Western Australia (WA) participating group was:
Bethel Christian School Albany
Emmanuel Christian Community School Incorporated
Goldfields Baptist College Incorporated
Kojonup Baptist Church
The Lake Joondalup Baptist College Incorporated
The Queensland Government has agreed to be a Funder of Last Resort for:
Beemar Yumba Maud Phillips Memorial Childrenâs Shelter (Qld)
Beulah Homes (Qld)
OPAL House (Qld)
OPAL Joyce Wilding Home (Qld)
For more information about the sites covered by these institutions and a full list of institutions that have joined, go to the Schemeâs website.
The website also includes a map where you can find institutions that have joined in your state or territory.
Where do I get support?
Redress Support Services are available to help people understand the Scheme, provide emotional support and guide people through the application process. A list of support services is available on the website. If you need immediate assistance from a counsellor, please contact:
This newsletter provides you with information about your legal options in regards to the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme).
For more information or to find support services, visit thehttp://nationalredress.gov.au/ or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday (local time) excluding public holidays.
Understanding your legal rights under the National Redress Scheme
You are not required to use a lawyer to apply for redress. However, you may wish to seek legal advice to understand if redress if the best option for you and the impact it may have on other legal rights.
If you want to access legal support, the Scheme offers freelegal advice throughknowmore or call 1800 605 762 (Free call).
You can also choose to use a private lawyer. This will be at your own cost. Below are some questions you may have regarding the use of lawyers and the Scheme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I required to seek legal advice?
No. However, you may wish to seek legal advice as this may help you through the process and allow you to completely understand your legal rights.
Can I get free legal advice?
Yes. The Scheme provides free legal support services through âknowmoreâ.
What can knowmore provide?
knowmore is available for free to all people thinking about applying to the Scheme.
knowmore can provide you with:
legal support through the application process,
legal advice on your options, including the availability of other forms of action or redress aside from the Scheme,
assistance understanding the legal effects of accepting an offer of redress,
advice on the effect of confidentiality agreements in past proceedings,
take complaints about the Scheme,
support obtaining records,
linking with specialist counselling, support services and victimsâ support groups, and
any other legal support needs, through providing information and referral support.
What is knowmore?
knowmore is a legal service funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Attorney-Generalâs Department.
knowmore delivers free services nationally from its three offices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney with regular visits to other States and Territories. These services are delivered through its multidisciplinary team of lawyers, social workers and counsellors.
knowmore has a proven track record of providing legal support services to survivors of child sexual abuse. It has the infrastructure and expertise deliver national, quality and traumaâinformed legal services.
Do I have to use knowmore?
No. You are not required to seek legal advice to apply to the Scheme. You can also use a private lawyer. This may be at your own cost.
Should I seek legal advice?
You may wish to seek legal advice, with the Scheme offering free advice through knowmore. While the Scheme is designed to be non-legalistic, some people may need help to complete their application to ensure that all the necessary information has been included. knowmore can help with this.
For many people making an application for redress will be the right thing to do. However, not everyone is eligible for redress. Some people may also want to consider if civil litigation is a better option for them.
If you have received redress under other schemes or through past actions or claims you can still apply to this Scheme; however, prior payments may be taken into account.
If you accept an offer of redress you must sign a release document. By signing this release, you will not be able to continue or to commence any civil or common law proceedings against the responsible institution or its officials. This is an important right to give up. knowmore can give you advice about the release and the legal options that you might have apart from redress.
Where do I get support?
Redress Support Services are available to help people understand the Scheme, provide emotional support and guide people through the application process. A list of support services is available on thewebsite.
To find out more, you can call the National Redress Scheme on1800 737 377Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm (local time), excluding public holidays. You can also visit the website theNational Redress Scheme website.
Latest institutions to join the National Redress SchemeThis newsletter includes an update on the latest institutions to join the National Redress Scheme. For more information or to find support services, go to theNational Redress Scheme websiteor call1800 737 377Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm (local time), excluding public holidays.
Institution update
On 29 March 2019, the National Redress Scheme (Scheme) added over 7,000 site records to the National Redress Scheme search database. This is the largest upload to the Scheme website to date. The following institutions have undertaken the steps to join, they are: · Uniting Church in Australia Assembly · Baptist Care NSW & ACT · Baptist Care SA · Baptist Care WA · Baptist Churches of New South Wales & ACT · Baptist Churches of Victoria · Sisters of Mercy Parramatta · Scouts Queensland
The fourth group of Anglican organisations have joined represented by Anglican Representative Limited, they are:
· Anglican Diocese Bunbury · Anglican Diocese of Gippsland · Anglican Diocese of Grafton · Anglican Diocese of Melbourne · Anglican Diocese of Newcastle · Anglican Diocese of North Queensland · Anglican Diocese of Sydney · Anglican Diocese of Tasmania · Anglican Diocese of Willochra · Anglican Schools Corporation · Anglicare N.T. Ltd · Anglicare SA Ltd · Brotherhood of St Laurence · Church Missionary Society – Australia Limited · Church Missionary Society – NSW and ACT Limited · Church Missionary Society Victoria Incorporated · Mentone Grammar School · St Columba Anglican School Council · St Michael’s Collegiate School · The Council of Macarthur Anglican School, ATF Macarthur School · The Council of Tara Anglican School for Girls · The Hutchins School
For more information about which sites are covered by these institutions, go to the Schemeâs website. There is also a full list of institutions that have joined the Scheme at:www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions/joined-scheme.
An interactive map is also now available on thiswebsitefor users to choose a state or territory from the map, to find out what institutions have joined in your area.
Where do I get support?
Redress Support Services are available to help people understand the Scheme, provide emotional support and guide people through the application process. A list of support services is available on thewebsite.
Those who need immediate emotional support can contact:
To find out more, you can call the National Redress Scheme on1800 737 377Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm (local time), excluding public holidays. You can also visit the website atwww.nationalredress.gov.au.
As frightening as it may be, it’s becoming highly publicised that ‘support is available from the … church/club/school/Institution‘. BEWARE: These may be another example of ‘bight the hand that feeds you‘. Also, that numerous wrongdoers of CSA were often involved as ‘Counsellor’, ‘Supporter’, ‘Family-liaison’ & so forth.
It has been found that experts in the fields of CSA Counselling+Support are available on both the CARC, knowmore & NationalRedressScheme sites. Often, these discussions & meetings are a much needed step in a victim’s recovery.
Through the Redress Scheme, those who have been sexually abused in Australian institutions now have the opportunity to obtain financial compensation, counselling and a personal apology for the horror they endured. But donât for one minute think it will be an easy process.
On 14 September 2015 the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its Redress and Civil Litigation Report. After receiving submissions from more than 250 individuals and institutions, the 589-page report made 99 recommendations. There was an enormous financial cost to the Australian public for the Royal Commission so we should listen to what the Royal Commission had to say.
Here are some of the most significant recommendations regarding the Redress Scheme and whatâs happened so far:
A national redress scheme for the estimated 60,000 likely claimants be established and commence accepting applications from survivors no later than 1 July 2017.
The Redress Scheme started on 1 July 2018, just a year late. While everyone can start the application process, my understanding is that some State legislation needs to catch up. Applications from Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia can be received but they canât yet be assessed.
The major perpetrators of institutional child sexual abuse (the Catholic, Anglican and Uniting churches, Salvation Army, Scouts and YMCA) have agreed to join the scheme. However, the current lack of legislation in some States creates a loophole, so letâs hope those non-government institutions donât use it to opt out.
The redress scheme to be independent of the offending institutions.
The applications for redress will be assessed by Independent Decision Makers, but we donât know who they are. The Redress Scheme assures applicants that the Independent Decision Makers have no connection with participating institutions. Does this mean there will be no Catholic, Anglican or Uniting Church parishioners? No ex or current members of the Salvation Army, Scouts or the YMCA? How can the assessment process be transparent if the Independent Decision Makers are not named?
Appropriate redress for survivors would include a financial payment up to $200,000.
The payment through the National Redress Scheme has been reduced to a maximum of $150,000.
$150,000 is a paltry amount for the impact of child sexual abuse on your life. It would go nowhere near compensating MsForgotten Australianfor her lack of ability to sustain full-time employment throughout her life, without taking into account her suffering. The average redress payment is expected to be $76,000 and many will get less than that.
Applicants may receive a greater payout if they pursue compensation through the court process but the burden of proof will be greater in the court system than through the Redress Scheme. However, the burden of engaging in the court process is likely to be more adversarial and stressful than the Redress Scheme. Itâs challenging for survivors to provide the detailed particulars (time, date, location etc) often required for the court process, particularly if the child sexual abuse occurred many years ago and occurred multiple times.
The Redress Scheme is of significant benefit for the perpetrating institutions as payouts are likely to be less than through the legal process, and they wonât be tied up and financing legal processes for years.
A person should be eligible to apply to a redress scheme for redress if he or she was sexually abused as a child in an institutional context and the sexual abuse occurred, or the first incidence of the sexual abuse occurred, before the cut-off date.
That is unless youâre in prison. If you are currently incarcerated you cant apply, you can do so when youâve been released. If youâre out of gaol, but youâve served more than a 5-year term then probably no redress for you, unless you are able to prove how rehabilitated you are.
Now I donât want to get into an argument about prisoners getting money but hereâs what infuriates me. The Royal Commission visited 60 prisons to take statements from prisoners who had been sexually abused in institutions. They did this because there is such a clear understanding that child sexual abuse derails peoples lives to such an extent they are over-represented in the prison system.
I provided counselling to prisoners who had attended private sessions with the Royal Commission. Their accounts of the sadistic child sexual abuse perpetrated against them were horrendous. For some, the Royal Commission was the first time they had disclosed the abuse and the process of disclosing was traumatic.
Of the, 6,875 survivors and/or their family and friends who attended private sessions between May 2013 and May 2017 to share their experiences of child sexual abuse in Australian institutions, 713 (10.4 per cent) were in prison at the time of their private session.
On average, survivors in prison were aged 11.3 years when they were first sexually abused in an institutional context, though many said they experienced physical and sexual abuse prior to this, often within the family. The majority were sexually abused on multiple occasions (86.7 per cent). Most said they were sexually abused by a single person (53.7 per cent), and almost three-quarters for a duration of one year or less (71.5 per cent).
Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse: Final Report â Private Sessions
So the Redress Scheme seems to be saying to prisoners âthanks for telling us what happened to you, we know that it stuffed your life up, but too bad, no Redress for you or your familyâ. Surely prisoners could apply and, if successful, any payout placed in trust.
Oh⊠and if youâre not an Australian citizen or permanent resident you also canât apply. So too bad if you came to Australia, went to school here, got sexually abused as a child at school and then went home! No redress for you either.
A redress scheme should rely primarily on completion of a written application form.
Sounds easy, but filling out that 44-page document is complex. Some survivors believed that their statement to the Royal Commission would have been sufficient as an application. Itâs agonising to document a detailed account of child sexual abuse and then send it off to be assessed, by an unknown party. Once again survivors are placed in the role of having to prove what happened to them.
There are supports available to help people with the application process. You can access them here:Redress Support Services. I would encourage anyone completing the application to be supported by family, friends and/or the support services offered.
Counselling and psychological care should be supported through redress in accordance with the following principles:
Counselling and psychological care should be available throughout a survivorâs life.
Counselling and psychological care should be available on an episodic basis.
Survivors should be allowed flexibility and choice in relation to counselling and psychological care.
There should be no fixed limits on the counselling and psychological care provided to a survivor.
Without limiting survivor choice, counselling and psychological care should be provided by practitioners with appropriate capabilities to work with clients with complex trauma.
Treating practitioners should be required to conduct ongoing assessment and review to ensure treatment is necessary and effective. If those who fund counselling and psychological care through redress have concerns about services provided by a particular practitioner, they should negotiate a process of external review with that practitioner and the survivor. Any process of assessment and review should be designed to ensure it causes no harm to the survivor.
Counselling and psychological care should be provided to a survivorâs family members if necessary for the survivorâs treatment.
New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have free counselling services as part of the redress offer. Counselling services in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia have not yet been finalised. Applicants living where States are not offering free counselling services will receive a payment of $5,000 to cover counselling. Thatâs about 25 sessions throughout a lifetime. That may not be sufficient to address complex trauma.
Some final thoughtsâŠ.
We now have a situation where some child abuse survivors may feel abandoned by the Redress Scheme. If you were in an institution and were viciously beaten and neglected, but not sexually abused you are now âunluckyâ because you canât access the Redress Scheme. The Royal Commission didnât just uncover child sexual abuse, it also uncovered systemic physical and emotional abuse and neglect in institutions and yet these non sexually abused survivors have no access to the Redress Scheme.
Iâm not sure the Redress Scheme sets right that which is morally wrong.
What are your thoughts regarding the Redress Scheme?
