By KATH GANNAWAY
A NEW group aimed at educating the community on what to look for and how to deal with grooming and sexual abuse of children will hold its first public forum in Healesville on Tuesday 28 October.
Seven years on from when Healesville residents Ian Lawther and Pam Krstic formed HEAR (Healesville Education and Awareness Raising) as a means of raising community awareness of the issue of child sexual abuse in general, and abuse by clergy in particular, the climate is ready for a more engaged discussion.
Hear was formed in response to two cases of sexual abuse of children by priests at St Brigid’s Parish.
The new group, Look Out, is not aligned with the St Brigid’s Parish, but Ms Krstic said some members of the parish had come on board.
“Everybody knows now, because of the Royal Commission, that this is not just an issue for Healesville, and people here don’t need to be embarrassed that it has happened here,” Ms Krstic said.
“It’s about recognising that what is needed is to make sure children are safe into the future.”
Rosie Petschack from Eastern Access Community Health (EACH) will talk on dealing with and surviving sexual abuse, about the response to trauma and helpful and unhelpful responses.
There will also be interviews with parents who have been living with the reality of abuse of their children.
“This group is not about being the Catholic issue, it’s about how each small community should be doing what it can to make their community a safe place so that anybody who does report abuse, or who wants to come forward, will be treated with respect and understands how valuable their experience is.
“It’s not just a matter of listening to people, but learning from them,” Ms Krstic said.
Ms Krstic said the forum and the group is not just for Healesville but for all communities in the region.
The meeting will be held at the cricket club rooms in Queen’s Park in Healesville, on Tuesday 28 October, from 1pm to 3pm.
For inquiries phone Ms Krstic on 0438 019 135.
