When @Milliganreports asked me in my #4Corners interview what I felt when I heard what happened to Paris, I said I felt sad. I was sad that Peter Kehoe was allowed to work with children in the first place. I was sad that Paris was subjected to his monstrous, sickening behaviour.
I was sad that when he turned to his school for help, they turned away, and supported the offender instead. I was sad that all of this happened alongside the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
I was sad, but now I am angry. We know that regret is no longer good enough. We know that lying low to the wall is no longer acceptable. I know, from being Paris' friend for 6 years, that regret and lying low to the wall do not heal the wounds that child sexual abuse inflicts.
Having a voice to tell his story—to seize back the power that was taken from him by Peter Kehoe and the institution that had Kehoe's back—has helped Paris to heal more than anything else.
If Stephen Russell and Luke Travers think they can lie low to the wall until the bitter weather passes, they are mistaken. The bitter weather has already passed for the one person that should have been, but never was, their priority: Paris Street.
Parents, teachers, and most importantly, students of St Kevin's, deserve better. #stkevinscollege
