Dion Barber retraumatised as Cook Government pushes ahead with challenge to landmark child sex abuse court win

A former ward of the State who was sent back to a sexual predator as a child says he is being retraumatised by the Cook Government appealing his landmark court win against it. Welfare authorities returned Dion Barber to his family home months after he first spoke out about his stepfather’s horrific abuse, aged eight. The nightmare resumed and he was then violated at various other placements, leaving him barely able to function in adulthood. At age 45 last year, however, he dragged the State to a civil trial and won. It soon lodged an appeal, saying it sought to clarify points of law. Mr Barber has been paid damages of $2.85 million, the largest ever awarded to a claim of this type in WA’s history and more than double the $1.2m he had earlier offered to accept to avoid a trial. But he now feels the main reason he publicly re-lived his years-long hell - blazing a trail for other survivors and getting acknowledgement of the State’s wrongdoing to him personally - is under attack. Mr Barber fears the appeal will have a chilling effect, preventing people like him from coming forward. “I wanted to bring about change for other children and survivors,” Mr Barber told The West Australian. “It’s horrible I still have to fight. “I still have nightmares about giving evidence in the trial. “I know the Government is trying to stop churches saying they are not responsible for their priests: why do they keep trying to say they’re not responsible for sending me back to a paedophile? “It’s pathetic.” Jarrod Luscombe, who was abused by a Christian Brother as a child and founded support group Survivors of Child Abuse, said the appeal was disgusting, unconscionable and hypocritical. “I cannot believe that the State Government is appealing this,” Mr Luscombe said. “It’s purely just to reduce their own liability. “It’s no different to the way the other institutions, namely the Catholics, have tried to find all these loopholes through law ... to get out of paying and taking accountability. “We’re definitely looking at this very, very closely.” Mr Luscombe said it was known that many survivors took more than 25 years to come forward because they felt they would not be believed “or there’s a shame that’s attached”. Acknowledgment of the abuse was critical for healing, he said. “What Dion Barber has gone through is nothing short of brutal,” Mr Luscombe said. “Paying him out is not good enough and it (the State Government) is really not understanding what survivors go through on a daily basis to come to terms with their own abuse.” Mr Barber questioned why it bothered making these types of claims possible by removing the limitation period in 2018. “They (the State) are appealing to say my entire case should have failed, that they can’t be responsible for what they did to me and what happened to me,” he said. A Cook Government spokesperson said it acknowledged the bravery of survivors like Mr Barber. “The appeal is about seeking clarity and ensuring the correct interpretation of existing laws,” the spokesperson said. “We expect the clarification will help others in Mr Barber’s situation to resolve their matters more quickly and without a trial.” Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888