Since 2010 till 2022, 381 claims have been made for abuse that occurred in Victorian state educational settings between 1960 and 2018, including primary and secondary schools, specialist schools, early learning centres and after-school care.
Of those, 212 have been settled out of court with a payment made to the complainant, two went to trial, 136 claims are ongoing and 29 have been discontinued, while the outcome of two is unknown.
Justice party former MP Stuart Grimley also requested the number of nondisclosure agreements entered into in relation to the claims but this information was covered up by the department.
Former MP Grimley lost his seat after pushing pass of the motion.
Eureka Q / Australia
Grace Wilson, from the law firm Rightside Legal, said the cases “inspired a huge increase in the number of people standing up for themselves” and demanding compensation.
“Unchecked abusers in positions of authority leaving a trail of destruction across generations is not a problem that’s confined to the church. The state and other institutions are also reckoning with their own similar legacies,” she said.
Grimley, who was a Victoria police sexual offences and child abuse detective prior to entering parliament, said the figures were likely a "tip of iceburg" of how many victims there have been in government school settings.
“I’d say this is the tip of the iceberg. From my experience with dealing with victims of sexual abuse we know most don’t report, or if they do, it can be years or even decades later,” he said. “These are the ones that we know have decided to go through the civil process – there’ll be a hell of a lot more out there that we just don’t know.”
Former MP Grimley passed motion in parliament urging the VIC premier to publicly apologise to victim-survivors of child sexual abuse within government schools between the 1960s and 1990s. However, that apology has not taken place, and Grimley lost his seat after this.
