BYM v The Corporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane (No 1)
[2023] QSC 298 · Williams J
This was a procedural ruling made during a Supreme Court trial in which an adult woman (referred to only as BYM) was suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane for damages over sexual abuse she says she suffered as a child in 1999. The judgment did not decide the damages claim itself. Instead, it dealt with whether the names of the plaintiff and of the alleged abuser — who was also a witness at the trial — should be kept secret. The judge weighed the public interest in open justice against the special legal protections that apply to people abused as children. The Court vacated an earlier, broadly worded interim suppression order and replaced it with more precise orders preventing publication of information that could identify the plaintiff, her school, or the witness, while still allowing the trial to be reported. The underlying damages claim remained to be decided.
Incident & injury
Alleged sexual abuse of the plaintiff when a child, said to have occurred in 1999
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 6 December 2023
- Claim type
- Historical Abuse
- Proceeding
- Interlocutory
- Plaintiff outcome
- N/A
- Plaintiff age at injury
- Occupation
- Not stated
Outcome
During a civil trial for damages for alleged childhood sexual abuse, the Court vacated an earlier broad interim non-publication order and substituted more targeted orders prohibiting publication of identifying information about the plaintiff (under s 194 of the Child Protection Act) and about the alleged perpetrator/witness CD (under s 8 of the Supreme Court of Queensland Act and inherent jurisdiction), subject to specified exceptions.
Key issues
BYM v The Corporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane (No 1) [2023] QSC 298
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