Child abuse survivors from farm school in eastern Australia seek additional compensation for trauma

ISTANBUL

Child abuse survivors from a farm school in eastern Australia are seeking additional compensation in court for the traumatic experience they endured.

Over 40 former students of Fairbridge Farm School in Molong have filed a second class action in New South Wales, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Tuesday.

The New South Wales Supreme Court will hear the case in June.

The students received a settlement of 24 million Australian dollars (approximately $15.41 million) in 2015, with the lower end of the compensation spectrum being 50,000 Australian dollars, according to the law firm that initiated the class action.

"Of all the things I've ever encountered, what happened to those children was just unpardonable," said former student David Hill of the Old Fairbridgians Association, explaining that in 2016, the state lifted the time limit on civil claims for child abuse cases, creating a new opportunity for the students.

"Yes, we had a big legal win some years ago, but nothing, nothing can get back a crushed childhood," said Hill.

Between the 1930s and 1970s, approximately 1,000 British orphans and underprivileged children attended school to be educated in farm and domestic work, during which time many of them were subjected to physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.