Survivors

Committee apologises for not concealing email addresses when alerting witnesses to final reportGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Victorian parliamentary committee investigating the harmful impact of cults accidentally sent the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of such groups and to journalists.The committee, which had its report into “cults and organised fringe groups” tabled in parliament on Wednesday, emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after midday to inform them it had been published, but erroneously left their addresses visible. Continue reading...

Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake ‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missingEmergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake left widespread devastation, with buildings collapsed, roads severely damaged and emergency teams digging through rubble.At least 13 people have been killed and many reported missing after the earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu with a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan meteorological agency. The US Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 6.8. Continue reading...

Lawyers predict ‘more suppression and no active investigations’ but victims’ groups determined to continue fightAs Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer Todd Blanche appears poised for confirmation as attorney general, numerous Jeffrey Epstein survivors have sounded the alarm that a US justice department helmed by him would derail their pursuit of justice.In a letter urging Republican senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn to reject his nomination, these survivors said that Blanche’s handling of the Epstein case as acting attorney general was characterized by misstep after misstep. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report from LNP-convened panel heavily criticises police responses to family violence and calls for civilian oversightGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Queensland government has buried the findings of its own working group of domestic violence victim-survivors, after their report was heavily critical of police responses and called for a “civilian review mechanism” to escalate complaints about police.The Liberal National government has repeatedly said it would “put victims at the heart” of the state’s justice policies. Continue reading...

George Foster tells royal commission Australia’s democratic institutions fundamentally different ‘but I can’t ignore certain disturbing parallels in the social atmosphere’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA rise in antisemitism across Australia has “disturbing parallels” with the social climate of Nazi Germany, the president of the Australian Holocaust survivors association says.George Foster, the president of Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, told the antisemitism royal commission that he did not believe Australia was “becoming another Germany in the 1930s”. Continue reading...

Catholic order with a record of child abuse could be subject to hundreds of redress claims worth up to $65mFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian taxpayers could be forced to cover up to $65m in payouts to hundreds of abuse victims when a failing arm of the Catholic church disappears, new court documents reveal.Last month, the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order with a shocking record of child abuse, informed a court it was going broke and would not be able to afford to pay out survivors. Continue reading...

Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope launched network after being repeatedly assaulted by partners while unconsciousTwo women who were drugged and raped by their partners while they were unconscious have said hundreds of people – including about 80 in the UK alone – have come forward to a support group for victims of the crime.Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope, who were both repeatedly assaulted by their partners while unconscious, are calling for tighter laws to stop men sharing images and videos of sexual assaults and rape online. Continue reading...