Former ward of the State Dion Barber sues over sexual abuse, says Government ‘deliberately protracting’

A man who was repeatedly sexually abused while a ward of the State is suing over the horrific trauma he suffered amid claims the process to get justice is being deliberately dragged out to wear him down. Dion Barber, 44, was eight when he was removed from his family home after authorities investigated an allegation he was being molested by his mother’s de facto partner — claims a court soon found were true. It led to him being made a ward of the State. But less than six months later he was returned to live with them and his nightmare continued, with the man’s vile crimes resuming the following day. They included forcing Mr Barber to perform sexual acts on the man and other relatives. Molestations allegedly continued everywhere he was placed. In foster care, he was allegedly preyed upon by a friend of his foster parents. He said he was sexually abused and physically assaulted by his now-dead biological father. And there was no escaping the horror of his maternal grandparents, who had access to him throughout all these ordeals and allegedly defiled him repeatedly, even forcing him to play sexualised games and watch pornographic material. “It’s just been repeated, everything in my life. Nothing has been a smooth ride,” Mr Barber told The Sunday Times. “They (the State) can’t take children and promise them a better life than what they’ve had if they can’t and, in many cases, make it worse. It’s just not right. “I’ve lived with this for 36 years.” Mr Barber said that as an adult, he was diagnosed with lifelong post-traumatic stress disorder so debilitating he’d struggled to work and keep a roof over his head. Having lost his capacity to work and forking out money for treatment, Mr Barber has sought compensation from the Department of Communities. But he said the figures he’d been offered and the time it had taken were “an insult”. “On top of what I went through as a child and past that, what I’ve had to go through for the last four years, this court case, they’ve offered a smack in the mouth,” he said. “They just dragged it past the ridiculous point. Hoping that I’d give up.” He said he had seen other survivors of child sexual abuse subjected to the same treatment in a “wear them out” approach. “I just want to put it out there that this needs to stop. What they’re doing to us is torture,” he said. “And it’s the Government, the people that we trust and pay our taxes to, that are doing it.” Maurice Blackburn abuse lawyer Hugo Seymour said Mr Barber wanted “to achieve some justice and accountability” from welfare authorities and “give himself a chance for a stable future”. “He argues that throughout his childhood, welfare authorities repeatedly failed to remove him from unsafe environments, which enabled him to be abused,” Mr Seymour said. “Further, welfare authorities repeatedly returned him to environments when they knew there was a real risk he would be sexually abused. “Unfortunately, Dion, like many survivors, has faced a real battle since bravely coming forward. Despite previously acknowledging that Dion was abused in care, the Department of Communities in his civil claim has not admitted that any abuse occurred.” The department was approached for comment. Mr Barber’s case is listed for trial in January. “I’m out to make these bastards answer one way or the other,” he said. Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888 Lifeline 13 11 14