Who Gave You Permission? Manny Waks' story of being abused and then ostracised
The Sydney Morning Herald
Fiona Capp
18 November 2016
Who gave you Permission? By Manny Waks with Michael Visontay (photo: Supplied).
Who Gave You Permission?
MANNY WAKS WITH MICHAEL VISONTAY
SCRIBE, $35
When Manny Waks told the leaders of his ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Melbourne about his experience of child sexual abuse by some of its members, he was shunned and ostracised. When his father stood up for him, Waks' family were cast out of the only world they had ever known. As a result, his parents now live in Israel and Waks and his family have fled to France. It is an extreme case of a story that has become familiar from the testimonies of those at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse where the initial abuse is compounded by the failure of those in authority to acknowledge the problem. In this absorbing memoir, Waks tells how he became a "reluctant troublemaker", speaking out on behalf of those who fear to do so, and of the renewed sense of purpose this role has given him.
Originally published at The Sydney Morning Herald.
MANNY WAKS WITH MICHAEL VISONTAY
SCRIBE, $35
When Manny Waks told the leaders of his ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Melbourne about his experience of child sexual abuse by some of its members, he was shunned and ostracised. When his father stood up for him, Waks' family were cast out of the only world they had ever known. As a result, his parents now live in Israel and Waks and his family have fled to France. It is an extreme case of a story that has become familiar from the testimonies of those at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse where the initial abuse is compounded by the failure of those in authority to acknowledge the problem. In this absorbing memoir, Waks tells how he became a "reluctant troublemaker", speaking out on behalf of those who fear to do so, and of the renewed sense of purpose this role has given him.
Originally published at The Sydney Morning Herald.