The Blue Knot Foundation, Australia’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma, says sexual abuse victims will be relieved that the appeal of Cardinal George Pell has failed and that his conviction will be upheld.
- “For many survivors a conviction being upheld against a high profile once powerful perpetrator underlines faith in the justice process and the possibility of speaking out.”
- “Believing the victim in this case sends a message to so many other victims that what happened to you mattered and will now be more likely to be believed than ever before.”
- “It is rare to have corroborating evidence in a child sexual abuse case as the crime is perpetrated in secret and there are rarely witnesses. In this case there was a witness but he was lost to suicide, quite possible as a result of the very crime he could have corroborated.”
Blue Knot Foundation is Australia’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma, empowering recovery and building resilience for the five million adult Australians (1 in 4) with a lived experience of childhood trauma (including abuse), their families and communities. The organisation played a pivotal role supporting the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and in advocating for fair and equitable redress.
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