The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse ("RC") has investigated how institutions across the country, including schools, churches, sports clubs and government organisations, have responded to allegations and instances of abuse. In February 2017,  the RC released their report on the Catholic Church.   The Australian Catholic Church released "grim" data revealing 7%  of priests, working between 1950 and 2009, have been accused of child sex crimes; 1880 alleged perpetrators. I have been working with victims of institutional abuse cases  (religious and Government Institutions), in various capacities for a number of years. The  length of delay in such cases, is  a common occurrence and has been said to cause more 'abuse' to the victims. From my experience, I have found the Defendants  tardy in their litigation responses, in spirit and the letter of UCPR and litigation principles. The defendants propose to the court this is due to a number of factors.  Are … [Read more...]