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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-06-05 Daily Xml
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O’GRADY, MS K.L.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (16:04): I move:

That, in the context of the death of Kirbee Louise O’Grady, this council urges the Attorney-General to commission an inquiry into—

1. The propensity and risk of victims of sexual assault to commit suicide; and

2. How the risk of suicide could be reduced by changes to the following services—

(a) the investigation and case management of the matter by the police;

(b) the management of prosecutions by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP);

(c) the support and follow-up process of the ODPP pre and post-trial, including when matters do not go to trial; and

(d) the support from victims, women’s and general support services.

This particular motion is a revamp of the motion I put up in relation to the untimely death (suicide) of Kirbee Louise O'Grady, who was the victim of sexual abuse by a family member, and the allegations that the investigation that followed her disclosure and the support systems that she received were inadequate and also that the DPP really didn't act in a timely manner in relation to this case.

I am not going to labour on this matter today but I will give a reason for the change in the terms of reference, because I will be discharging the other motion I have put up. I would like to thank all members for speaking to my previous motion, and I hope that they would like to put their thoughts on the record in relation to this one.

The reason that the terms of reference have been changed is obviously to gain the support of the Liberal Party and other members in this council to see some sort of progression made in disclosing or uncovering the shortfalls that occurred in Kirbee O'Grady's case. I note that the opposition was not comfortable in directing the Coroner, and I am somewhat sympathetic to that, although I know that legislatively we are actually able to do that. However, I think the suggestion of the Hon. Stephen Wade to target this particular motion to the propensity and risk of victims of sexual abuse to commit suicide has value. Although Kirbee's story is tragic, she was not alone. I believe there are many cases of young people who have suffered sexual abuse who find absolutely no remedy in the system or in the services and support that is offered to them.

I note that in speaking to the other motion that was moved, the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars on behalf of the government made a number of claims as to the level of support that Kirbee was offered via the DPP and other authorities she was in contact with. The family of Kirbee O'Grady vehemently denies that Kirbee had access to any of those services. She was offered counselling via the Women's and Children's Hospital, I believe, and she did attend, but she did not find that it was actually dealing with the issue of her abuse and how she would deal with the fact that her trial was never going to happen. It was not so much the counselling that she needed to reconcile the abuse, although that was an important part of it: it was for this young girl to be able to make sense in her own mind why her case did not warrant an investigation and a trial in the eyes of the authorities.

I have a letter from Kirbee's aunt, who has been involved in this and whose daughter was also the victim of sexual abuse by the same family member. The letter states:

We were never told there was insufficient evidence to go to trial. It was always that Kirbee was not strong enough for trial. We were told the girls could come back at any time when they were ready to pursue this.

Why I wasn't informed that my daughter Ashley's case could have gone ahead at that stage I don't know, because she was able and willing to go ahead then.

Kirbee was offered counselling at the Women's and Children's Hospital, which her mother took her to several times. She was told that there was no point in bringing her back as Kirbee was not talking or opening up. To me, that is more of a reflection on the standard of counselling offered than on a victim of abuse's ability to open up and talk freely about what the issues are that are of concern.

That was the only support service offered and there was no follow up support offered. Later, her mother sought out her own counselling services, which Kirbee went to, through Anglicare in Pitt Street in the city and also Shopfront in Salisbury. These were the direct efforts of the mother and absolutely not on recommendation from anybody within the system or in a position of authority who had been dealing with Kirbee's case.

We do not understand why it was so hard to reopen the case. Why were we told Kirbee's files were in Port Augusta and Elizabeth? How did her file become lost between leaving Elizabeth Magistrates Court and the Office of the DPP? The duty of care, supporting services, we were never given updates on how things were progressing. We were made to feel that we were bothering police and detectives when we would make inquiries. Things that we were told were never followed through on. The mother had to stop an interview which was taking place in an inappropriate area, that is, at the front counter of a police station. They expected this young girl to conduct an interview about horrendous sexual abuse at the front counter of a police station.

At a meeting with the DPP on 8 October 2012, witness protection officer Anna told Kirbee's mother that she remembered Jenny raising concerns with her about Kirbee and suicide. So, they were aware of Kirbee and the suicide risk; however, not from Kirbee but from her mum. At a meeting after Kirbee's proofing on 9 May 2011, her mother voiced her concern as to: what do we do now? The detective told her to forget about it; it was no longer their concern.

It is just the insensitivity of all of this. The courage it takes for a victim of abuse, especially a young person, to come forward and bare their soul, make the statements, go through the proofing process, for this to be treated as almost a nothing would be absolutely shattering to that person. I have said it in this place many times: sexual abuse changes a person's life, changes a child forever. This was treated almost as flippantly as if someone had stolen a handbag.

As I said, I am not going to labour this, only to put on the record that the statement the Hon. Mr Kandelaars made in this place about the amount of services and support offered to Kirbee is simply not true. As we heard the Hon. John Darley question the minister the Hon. Ian Hunter in question time about the accuracy of the information he is receiving from his department, so too I would say that the statement made in here on behalf of the government, obviously provided by the department, should be questioned and questioned thoroughly because the family, as I said, denies that any of that was offered.

Another reason for the change of the terms of reference is because my office received a telephone call this morning from the Attorney-General's office, saying that they had looked at the terms of reference and they believe they would be more inclined to support this motion than the previous one. I was going to call this to a vote today but, given that the government states that it has not had time (and I am fully sympathetic with that) to consider the terms of reference and prepare a response, in the hope that the government will at least support this now—one of the very rare times that the government is showing some interest in getting to the bottom of the effects of sexual abuse on our children—I have decided to postpone the vote to the next sitting day and hope that the government has an acceptable response prepared and will show support.

I know all the crossbenchers who have contacted me are saying that they more than support the motion and what lies behind it, and what needs to be done about victims of sexual abuse and the handling of their matters. I speak on this not just from Kirbee O'Grady's case but also in dealing with the victims of abuse in state care and the many people who I met who were involved in that inquiry, who suffered horrendous abuse, lived with it for many years and then, when the Mullighan inquiry was established, were required to go in and relive that abuse not just once, sometimes many times, to give their evidence. Then, at the end of all that, even with the government's promises of being the model litigant, they came out of that with absolutely no validation, no satisfaction, nothing.

They were left high and dry. They were left with minimal support services to deal with being retraumatised by having to tell their story and, basically, left like a shag on a rock. I dealt with many of those victims of abuse. It took a lot of courage for them to come forward, and it took a lot of resilience for them to remain on their feet and walk around after the trauma of giving evidence to the Mullighan inquiry.

I relate Kirbee O'Grady's case to the similar emotions and psychological effect that she would have suffered at the hands of the authorities by having her case treated like, as I said, nothing more than a handbag hijack. I think it is now time that Kirbee's case is used as a template, if you like, for investigating the investigation and case management of matters by the police; the management of prosecutions by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the effectiveness of the support and follow-up process of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions pre and post trial, including when matters do not go to trial; and the availability of support from victims', women's and general support services.

As I have said many times, we exist in a world of paper policy where what is written up and reads well rarely happens on the ground, and I think that this is a good opportunity for all of that to be aired and, perhaps, some really useful recommendations can come out of this for changing a system that is sadly letting down child victims of sexual abuse.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (16:18): I rise to speak on the fresh motion. I spoke previously on the current order of the day No. 12, so I will not reiterate the circumstances of Kirbee's death, but if I could particularly address the new motion and why the opposition will be supporting it. I would like to initially thank the Hon. Anne Bressington for her understanding and constructive engagement in understanding the concerns of the opposition. As I said on the last occasion, we did not think it was appropriate to instruct the Coroner in this case and the member has respected our views.

I would like to acknowledge the support of the crossbenchers. As the Hon. Ann Bressington indicated, the crossbenchers were very strong in their support for the original motion and I look forward to their ongoing support for the revised motion. I hope they understand the motivations for it. I would also like to acknowledge and welcome the government's indication of openness to the revised motion, and I urge caucus to approach it with sympathy.

I understand that the family of Kirbee O'Grady also supports the broadening of the focus, and I thank them for that. There are some factors in Kirbee's story that might offer lessons for the future, but there may also be other factors that were not factors in Kirbee's death that may offer lessons that could benefit other victims of sexual assault who might, in the future, consider suicide. So I thank them for their openness to the broadening of the focus; it is the shared hope of us all that young Australians are not put in a situation where suicide is an option for them.

In that context I would like to share with the council some information that has been provided to me by the Commissioner for Victims' Rights. In considering this motion and the related issues, I have appreciated the opportunity to speak to both the Coroner and the commissioner, and the commissioner gave me information that I think might assist the council. He wrote:

Victims of sex offences, such as rape, are prone to suffer depression and some to endure post-traumatic stress disorder. Many victims have suicidal thoughts and, alas, some victims complete suicide. Statistics from the United States reveal that about 33 percent of rape victims have suicidal thoughts and about 13 percent attempt suicide (sometimes years after the rape happened). Kilpatrick et al (1985) interviewed a sample of 2,004 women (aged 18 yrs and older) about [their] victimisation and mental health problems. The researchers reported that rates of 'nervous breakdowns', suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts were significantly higher for victims of crime than for non-victims. Moreover, victims of attempted rape, completed rape, and attempted sexual molestation had problems more frequently than did victims of attempted robbery, completed robbery, aggravated assault, or completed molestation. Nearly one rape victim in five had attempted suicide. Most sexual assault victims' mental health problems came after their victimization. The research has concluded that crime victims are at risk of developing major mental health problems, some of which are life-threatening in nature.

Cutajar et al (2010) report on an Australian study involving 2,759 victims of child sexual abuse. These victims suffered higher rates of suicide and accidental fatal drug overdose compared to national data for the general population. The study results show that a diagnosis of anxiety disorder was the most commonly reported diagnosis among the victims of child sexual abuse who died from self-harm whereas depression and psychosis is usually a strong predictor of suicide in the general community.

...there is concern about the number of suicides completed by young people in Australia. Suicidal feelings are often treatable, as is depression and...mental illness. People with suicidal thoughts often feel terribly isolated, because they distrust, they may not think of anyone they can turn to that furthers the isolation. Young people (possibly like Kirbee) usually attempt suicide to block emotional pain that they perceive as unbearable. Attempted suicide is often a cry for help.

I think the information provided to me by the commissioner in that last statement highlights the challenge for the justice system. It refers to the fact that people with suicidal thoughts often feel terribly isolated because of a lack of trust. Now, in a justice system that hopefully offers them the prospect of justice, that trust issue will be a problem. It will take a sensitive response from the service providers.

I welcome the motion, and I welcome the fact that we will be taking up not only the issues that Kirbee faced but also those that other young Australians have faced and will face. I thank the family for their openness to the expansion, and I look forward to further consideration of this motion in due course. I commend the motion to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. G.A. Kandelaars.

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