Gabrielle Short’s first memory is a Catholic nun holding her down and suffocating her with her religious habit.
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She was three years-old and an orphan at the former Nazareth House girls’ home when it was ruled by notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale. She vividly recalls struggling to breathe but the harder she fought to free herself, the tighter the grip of the nun became.
“My face was stuck in her habit and I was trying to scream but I couldn’t get the sound out because the fabric was pressed so hard against my face,” she said.
When Ms Short was released she was gasping for air. The nun slammed her head against a wall before beating her almost unconscious. She describes her childhood inside the girls home as a daily battle for survival. Ridsdale, who was chaplain at the school in 1963 and 1964 would pick girls daily and take them away to sexually abuse them.
One girl who was being repeatedly raped by Ridsdale attempted suicide by trying to jump out the second floor window in the middle of the night. The other orphans formed a barrier around the girl to stop her before a nun came in and beat her until she was curled up in the foetal position on the ground.
She said the sadistic sexual abuse and brutality inflicted on the orphans had shattered the lives of the women with many now dead, homeless or living in poverty.
The most recent Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse hearings saw an almost 30 per cent increase in the number of victims coming forward and seeking support from Ballarat’s Centre Against Sexual Assault.
Ms Short said she would not stop fighting until all the nuns and priests who allowed paedophilia to flourish in Ballarat were exposed.
“The women of Nazzie house are often forgotten about,” Ms Short. “But the fact is there are so many of us still suffering.”
While there are services already in place for women, CASA is exploring the idea of starting a new group for female suirvours mirroring the highly successful men’s group. It’s a move Ms Short hoped would save lives.
“Speaking to other women about the abuse is often the first time survivors will spill their guts because they feel like they aren’t being judged,” she said.
To express interest in the group, call CASA on 5320 3933 or free call 24 hours 1800 806 292. Lifeline: 13 11 14