The same pattern of church abuse
In May 2019, Polish journalist Tomasz Sekielski released “Tell No One”, a self-funded documentary about child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Poland. A year later he released a second film, “Playing Hide and Seek”. Both are available on YouTube with English subtitles.
“Tell No One”
Sekielski published “Tell No One” on YouTube on 11 May 2019. It drew more than 20 million views in its first 10 days.
The film follows several survivors as they confront the priests who abused them as children, and some of those encounters were filmed with hidden cameras. It shows a familiar picture: abuse concealed rather than reported, and church authorities who failed to protect the children in their care.
Two months earlier, in March 2019, the Polish Catholic Church had published its own figures, recording that 382 clergy had been reported for abusing 625 children between 1990 and 2018. Those were only the reports that reached church authorities. Many survivors never felt able to report at all.
In Poland, one of the most religious countries in Europe, the film prompted a national conversation about the church’s handling of abuse.
“Playing Hide and Seek”
Sekielski’s second film was released on YouTube in May 2020, and its impact was immediate. Within hours, the Primate of Poland, Archbishop Wojciech Polak, responded publicly and asked the Vatican to investigate the cases the film raised.
The same pattern, everywhere
The country and the language may be different, but the pattern is the same one survivors in Australia know: children abused by people they were taught to trust, institutions that protected their reputation instead of the child, and survivors who carried the harm for decades before anyone listened.
In Australia, that pattern was examined in detail by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Read more about church abuse compensation.
If this is your story
If you or someone you know is living with the effects of institutional child sexual abuse, you are not alone, and support is available. The trauma of childhood abuse often lives on into adulthood, affecting survivors and the people around them for decades.
If you choose to seek compensation, you may still be able to, even if the abuse happened many years ago. In most cases there is no longer any time limit, because every Australian state and territory has removed the time limit for civil claims arising from child sexual abuse. Individual circumstances still matter.
A civil compensation claim is assessed on the actual harm the abuse has done to your life. The National Redress Scheme caps payments at $150,000, a figure rarely reached, and accepting a Scheme payment permanently extinguishes your right to a civil claim against the institution. Applications close on 30 June 2027, so get independent legal advice before you apply.
Speak to our institutional child sexual abuse lawyers in confidence. We will listen, treat you with respect, and explain your options at your own pace. Call Ross Koffel on +612 9283 5599 or use the form below.
