It is surely a reflection on Australia that a 16 yr old student under the spell of a 34yr old teacher can be referred to as a 'mistress'. This is 1950's talk , I sent off a complaint to the Press Council about it, no doubt it will be sniggered about in the office around the water cooler, but really. One would think, having had Grace Tame really shove this concept backwards on the guilty party,for a whole year and longer now, that this would be a non starter to use this labelling.
Chris was a practised groomer, the evidence of that lies exposed in JC"s testimony.
Of course, once I pressed send, I realised that the AU Govt bestowed an AO on Bettina Arnt for running a whole program with Grace's abuser, who had all the freedom in the world to claim he was an object of jealousy, because of his capacity to use these young girls in his class .. ..so no doubt the sniggering will become loud laughter. Sometimes I loathe how things are in Australia. I'm allowed to say that, too.
So when I look at where Chris Dawson is coming from, and Paul, too, ... they are now looking back at social boundaries that were completely underground, but Chris will be judged on the social contracts of today. Which are, although miniscule in changed outlooks, there is the slight twinge of the unacceptable , and even then, when Chris and Paul were teachers, that situation (abuse )would have been a matter of ending a teaching contract.
It still surprises me, that they both retained their careers , although they moved to another state, and into the Catholic School System, which , considering all things, must have had a different outlook on this kind of thing. Someone had clout to get them out of NSW and into QLD schools.
www.abc.net.au
