Terror, Tears, Trials and Triumph. 2015, A year that has enabled new beginnings and solidified me. Mairead Ashcroft 30/12/15
What a year !!! It was a time of tumultuous self understanding and extreme life experiences. It was a time of love, sadness, confusion, victory and joy. The year began with my knowing that after 16 long, long years, I would finally face my childhood sexual abuser, Brother Bernard Hartman from the Marianist Catholic order, in court. https://www.facebook.com/events/406451209531857/ Innocent Child of the Village Event The date was set for the 20th April. The waiting was drawing to a close and I was looking forward contributing to furthering the protection of other potential victims. To mark the event I planned a gathering at Altona Beach to raise awareness if Childhood Sexual Abuse. As the time of the trial was coming close our family was engulfed in a disaster of what seemed, at the time, meteorologic proportions. My youngest daughter was hit by a car which resulted in a severe spinal fractures requiring intensive sur