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Dickson Reps

“Thor Prohaska, the Independent Candidate for Dickson, calls on Peter Dutton, Cheryl Kernot & others to assist sexual abuse survivors in Royal Commission Case No. 34”

In the loving spirit of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission Thor Prohaska the independent Candidate for Dickson & the victims of Kevin Lynch call on Peter Dutton, Cheryl Kernot and others to voluntarily come forward and provide a statement to the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse.

‘Case Study 34 – Brisbane Grammar School & St Paul’s School’ is a horrific case study with multiple suicides and victims constantly living in fear.  For survivors to heal and reduce the likelihood of further victim harm due to lack of closure, they call on Peter Dutton & others, out of the goodness of their heart, to now come forward and make a statement.

Publication of information by the Royal Commission has only been made possible by the establishment of this governing body. Information important to survivors had previously been withheld. For openness and transparency the recently published information by the Royal Commission necessitates a new line of investigation in case study 34. Survivors petition the Royal Commission to call a second hearing for further information to be heard in public and for new witnesses to be called.

 

And there are a number of survivors seeking clarity on numerous issues this case study raises before they feel comfortable providing their full statements to the Royal Commission. If Peter Dutton and the others can provide more information then this will help them to feel safe enough to come forward to provide their statements. See the Change.Org petition for more details.

Change.org petition ‘Royal Commission call Mr Peter Dutton MP & others to testify in Sex Abuse Case Study 34’:

https://www.change.org/p/australian-royal-commission-into-institutional-responses-to-child-sexual-abuse-case-study-34-royal-commission-call-peter-dutton-mp-others-to-testify-in-sex-abuse-case-study-34?recruiter=535262573&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive

 

Supporting YouTube Video

To reach a larger audience a YouTube video has been produced that contains an interview with the sexual abuse survivor who started the change.org petition. He goes by the social media pseudonym of ‘Lynch Victim’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvN2eDWTKc8

Video Transcript:

Thor: Hello my name is Thor. I’m the Independent Candidate for Dickson.

In this video I interview a survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated by Kevin Lynch at Brisbane Grammar & St Paul’s schools. He has asked for my help to raise awareness about his petition on change.org. He is Petitioning the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to call Peter Dutton & others to testify in Sex Abuse Case Study 34.

He speaks from the heart about his experiences and the lack of closure that he and the other survivors are still experiencing and is hoping that Peter Dutton, Cheryl Kernot and others will come forward with any information that may help them move on with their lives.

He goes by the pseudonym of Lynch Victim. His voice has been disguised.

Thor: You are one of many survivors of sexual abuse in Royal Commission case study 34. Your identity is protected. What are your memories of sexual abuse?

Survivor Lynch Victim: Daily flash backs of the abuse with certain triggers, a sound a smell, a voice, a picture

Thor: What is your main memory?

Survivor Lynch Victim: The smell of baby oil and the image of brown towels in preparation for the sexual abuse

Thor: So how do you feel?

Survivor Lynch Victim: Guilty, shameful, dirty, unloved. At times very anxious and suicidal when nobody including my family takes the time to listen, understand and take my concerns extremely seriously.

Everyone says I should move on and not to dig up the past. It is easy for someone who has not been sexually abused to brush things off as if it was nothing. The whole issue of trust has been broken. Kevin Lynch was a counsellor and survivors went to him for help and trusted him.

Survivors do not trust anyone anymore. This includes anyone in a position of authority or public trust.

Thor: Very few survivors told anyone at the time of the abuse. It is many years and now decades, so why didn't survivors tell anyone? 

Survivor Lynch Victim: Back in the 1980's the Fitzgerald inquiry broke all public trust in Qld Police and authority. There was absolutely no one to turn to.

Thor: How are survivors now?

Survivor Lynch Victim: Not very well : multiple suicides, mental health problems, drug abuse, lack of employment and income, social isolation from family and friends and a life absolutely shattered.

Thor: What makes survivors want to speak out now?

Survivor Lynch Victim: While there has been a Royal Commission hearing in case study 34, the issues are highly complex and survivors have only recently been able to review information that has previously been withheld.

Since the recent publication of some information, survivors would like new information considered and new witnessed called by the Royal Commission. We are petitioning for a second Royal Commission hearing in case study 34 on Change.org.

Survivors extend an open invitation to anyone who may have information, no matter how insignificant it might appear to now come forward.

Thor: What do Survivors want?

Survivor Lynch Victim: The process of reconciliation and closure needs to be underpinned by truth and justice in order for survivors to rest in peace and put all the darkness to bed and restore a sense of normality to the lives we should have enjoyed.

The MP Peter Dutton attended the Brisbane school St Pauls in the 1980's and went on to become a Queensland police officer in the specialist area of sex crimes in the 1990's. He had an unblemished employment record, was a highly regarded police investigator with exemplary skills and intimate knowledge in seeking the truth and justice using a wide network of informants.

As an influential politician, Peter Dutton has the capacity to help survivors in Royal Commission Case Study 34 fill in many of the blanks by submitting a statement to the Royal Commission. Survivors would like Peter Dutton and the Royal Commission to work collaboratively with survivors in reviewing information, no matter how insignificant it may initially appear. More detail of our petition for a second hearing in case Study 34 can be viewed on Change.Org

Thor: I appreciate it is hard for survivors to come forward and publicly speak up. On behalf of the Australian community truth and reconciliation should be at the heart and forefront of our minds in supporting survivors overcome traumas.

As an Independent candidate standing in Peter Dutton's seat of Dickson I extend an open invitation for Peter Dutton to meet privately with survivors and to submit a statement to the Royal Commission and for the Royal Commission to call the second hearing survivors are petitioning for.

Also in the 2001 election campaign Cheryl Kernot made allegations about Peter Dutton. However, the public never got to hear what these were because Kym Beasley the Labor leader at the time silenced her. If any of these allegations were associated with police matters related to Case Study 34 or any of the other cases that have been heard by the Royal Commission then I also invite Cheryl Kernot to meet privately with survivors and to submit a statement to the Royal Commission.

I say that these are matters that are of importance to the voting public in the seat of Dickson.

END

For further information contact Thor Prohaska:

Email: thor@dicksonreps.net

Phone: 0459 167 377

Written and authorised by Thor Prohaska 6/728 Gympie Rd, Lawnton Qld 4501