BALLARAT clergy abuse survivors say they want a redress scheme which mirrors support given to soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.
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In a submission to the state government, Ballarat and District Survivors Group members Andrew Collins and Peter Blenkiron called for a scheme which replicated support given not only to war veterans, but Workcover and transport accident victims. The group called for all survivors to receive an individual treatment plan and compensation for pain and suffering, capped at $350,000.
“Like past payments for victims made under Workcover and TAC, it needs to encompass pain and suffering,” Mr Collins said. “What we are proposing is a whole of life supportive system which will stop suicides and premature deaths rather than just a single payment which will not have the long term benefits needed.”
Mr Collins said there was no difference in the effects of PTSD for child sex abuse victims and return war veterans. He said like veterans, victims should get an extra $252 above the disability pension if they required it.
The government called for views on the creation of a state-based compensation plan, following the release of redress scheme recommendations made by the child sex abuse royal commission last month.
“If you could imagine a child walking down the street and somebody in a car deliberately targets them and runs them down they would be entitled to care for the rest of their life if they needed it,” Mr Collins. “This is exactly the same. We are not saying the government should pay for it, they should run it, but the institutions need to pay for it.”
The group proposed all sexual abuse victims receive a health care card, unlimited access to services and scope to seek court action if required. Mr Collins previously criticised the royal commission’s recommendations for scheme, claiming it will create different classes of victims as it proposed measuring compensation against criteria, including severity of abuse.
“It has to be assessed not on how they were abused but the effects the abuse has had on their life,” Mr Collins said. “It has to something that is fair and equitable for the damage that has been done in the past.” Meanwhile, Francis Sullivan of the Catholic Church's Truth Justice and Healing Council has publicly thrown his support the behind the national redress scheme proposed by the royal commission.
