Dr Cathy Kezelman

The crimes of family violence and child abuse first hit the headlines in the 1970s and 1980s when political feminist waves exposed the issues within Australian society.

An undisclosed heart condition prevented Cardinal Pell, the third most powerful man in the Catholic Church, from travelling to Australia to appear before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The need to respond proactively to trauma and violence in our society, as well as globally, has never been more urgent.

Cardinal George Pell withdrew from his much-awaited personal appearance by at the public hearing into the Melbourne archdiocese and Ballarat diocese this week, due to a sudden exacerbation of long-standing heart condition.

In a joint statement issued last week by the Federal Attorney General and Minister for Social Services, we saw a welcome commitment by both parties to ‘lead the development of a national approach to redress for victims of institutional child sexual abuse.