The Victorian Child Abuse Survivors and Supporters lunches held at the Sandringham Hotel have enabled connections, growing a peer led supportive community with voices, that shares knowledge.  For the Beaumaris community this created the opportunity for important, early knowledge sharing with the Victorian Department of Education's implementation - the how and the what - of the recommendations of the Beaumaris Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in Beaumaris Primary School and certain other government schools.

This community includes a survivor who grew up in the Beaumaris area, who was part of the Continuous Voices project in Ballarat. "A project that connects trauma and creativity to stand for change and resistance against sexual assault and sexual abuse. To create a memorial to acknowledge all survivors, not just those impacted through institutional abuse, is seen as an important recognition of the immense impact of abuse and a small step towards positive change."

https://www.creativeballarat.com.au/continuous-voices-project-background

This important, relevant knowledge of the Continuous Voices project, including the process and lessons learnt, is being shared with the Victorian Department of Education, regarding their implementation of the Beaumaris Board of Inquiry Recommendation 2: A new memorial and a consistent process.

"The Board of Inquiry recommends the Department of Education:

•  work with victim-survivors, secondary victims and affected community members to co-design the location and form of a memorial acknowledging historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School
• consider, facilitate and fund requests for other memorials to acknowledge historical child sexual abuse in government schools in accordance with new policy guidance for memorials. This policy guidance should be trauma-informed and:
• be developed in consultation with victim-survivors and secondary victims of historical child sexual abuse in government schools
• provide for consistent assessment of requests for memorials, and
• describe decision-making processes, types of memorialisation to consider and
  requirements for facilitating engagement with victim-survivors, secondary victims, local communities and other stakeholders."|

https://content.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-03/Executive_Summary_Digital.pdf

Given the small budget the Beaumaris Board of Inquiry recommendations has been allocated, hearing from as many community members as possible, including those with relevant knowledge and expertise, is vital.

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We are continuing to communicate with Catherine King MP's office, regarding talking to the outcomes our petition seeks, as we recently did so with Zoe Daniel MP.

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Thank you to all our supporters. We are stronger together.