A 13-year-old girl who made credible allegations of sexual abuse against her stepfather has won the right to leave Australia to return to New Zealand to live with her father.
The girl's mother and stepfather had taken a court case all the way to the New South Wales Supreme Court to try to block the girl from being legally allowed to leave the state.
But in a judgment released in December, the court found the girl should be allowed to move to New Zealand to live with her father.
The girl, whose identity is protected, was born in New Zealand, and her parents broke up when she was two. She and her mother later relocated to Sydney.
The mother married her second husband, who like her was born in Fiji, in 2015, in what the court described as a "religious ceremony". The couple were both devout Muslims.
She and her younger half sister were removed from the family home in the Sydney suburbs four days later.
In 2017, the then 11-year-old girl came to the attention of NSW Secretary of Family and Community Services when she told a counsellor at her faith-based private school in Sydney that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather since mid-2016.
She and her younger half sister were removed from the family home in the Sydney suburbs four days later.
Her mother refused to believe her, instead siding with her husband, and took the New South Wales Families Minister to court to try to prevent her daughter from being allowed to leave the state.
The presiding judge, Justice J Lindsay, said in a written decision the girl's mother "did not, and does not, believe her but has sided with the stepfather in denying that she was sexually abused at all and in contending that her complaint is a fiction without foundation".
"In my assessment, she is not open to acceptance of any criticism of the stepfather, even when she professes otherwise. She is too thoroughly convinced of his rectitude (and her daughter's propensity to lie) to acknowledge any truth in her daughter's complaint."
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Justice Lindsay went on to say: "The girl has been so distraught by her experience of sexual abuse; as she sees it, betrayal by her mother; her mother's opposition to her going to live with her father in New Zealand; and the pendency of these proceedings, that she has entertained suicidal thoughts."
The girl was found to be likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and abandonment issues.
Police investigated her complaint but did not proceed with prosecution, citing a lack of additional supporting evidence to confirm the girl's allegations.
He also claimed that if the girl was allowed to move to New Zealand on the basis that he has sexually abused her, and their community comes to regard him as a sexual abuser of children, his personal safety may be at risk.
In a statement to the court, the stepfather claimed that the complaint was a retaliation for an attempt to discipline her for sending "nude" photographs of herself to an older teenage boy.
But the court found no evidence that any such photographs existed.
He also claimed that if the girl was allowed to move to New Zealand on the basis that he has sexually abused her, and their community comes to regard him as a sexual abuser of children, his personal safety may be at risk.
A study from the the Washington University Child Guidance Centre in the United States found around one in five mothers choose not to believe their children when abuse allegations arise.
Key factors in a mothers' acceptance of reported abuse were the child's age and the relation of the offender to the child, the study found.
Auckland-based Kidz Therapy director Marie Kelly said the young girl would be feeling betrayed, confused, and likely blaming herself for what had happened.
"Adults are supposed to protect children and she has been betrayed by her primary caregiver and someone whom she may have looked up to as a father figure.
"She received the message from her mother that she does not believe her. So it is like she is being punished for telling the truth; now she has to move back to New Zealand, remove herself from existing relationships, social groups, school and rebuild her life."
The girl took two supervised trips to see her father in January and July of 2019, and she decided this was her best option for a safe and stable home.
The NSW Supreme Court ordered that the girl should be allowed to travel outside of New South Wales without prior notice to her mother or stepfather.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354
Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757
Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116
Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666
Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
