Camille Waring attended Goulburn Valley Grammar from 1988 to 1993 and is taking the school to court, alleging it didn’t do enough to prevent alleged sexual abuse of Ms Waring during her time at the school.
The teacher was found not guilty of raping Ms Waring in a criminal case.
Ms Waring, who agreed to be identified, said her adult life had been “mired in violence, homelessness, self-harm, pathological self-hatred and low self-esteem” and attempted suicide and developed eating disorders as a result of the alleged abuse.
She said she was “destroyed” by the time she left high school and “fled Shepparton immediately”, but her abusers stayed in her life until she was 21.
“There is no peace for women like me,” Ms Waring said.
Camille Waring says she was sexually abused during her time at Goulburn Valley Grammar School. Photo: supplied
“Childhood sexual violence robs you of time.
“It stole my childhood and playful adolescence, sucked my young adulthood into the vacuum of the criminal justice system, and denied me a stable adulthood.”
She said she was “absolutely” sure other girls were abused at the school.
Ms Waring said “I certainly wasn’t the last” person her teacher allegedly abused, and she was told he “named the girls my ‘replacement’ after I left GVGS”.
“It is harrowing knowing I was his first victim at GVGS and still feeling guilt and baring the painful realisation that we could have saved so many other girls if I had been protected.”
Ms Waring said the former teacher had approached her on Instagram in late 2021 which made her “incredibly hurt and upset”.
She said she sent an email to the school and had an email exchange with a senior staff member before setting up a Zoom call.
She said she was promised to be spoken to every two weeks as part of the reconciliation process but said three months passed before the next call.
Feeling “hoodwinked” by the school, Ms Waring approached the law firm Arnold, Thomas and Becker.
“I appreciate that the current leadership of GVGS is deeply upset and outraged by the conduct I was subject to while a student at GVGS.
“So now is the time for the current leadership to make amends, apologise on behalf of the institute that facilitated my [abuse], and afford me rightful compensation.
“Adults who knew or should have known I was being abused but failed to act were complicit in my abuse.
Ms Waring said she was “incredibly mentally unwell” during the criminal trial, which she said she sat through with “blood-soaked bandages on my wrists” in a process which felt like being abused again, with a bigger audience.
“After the court trials, I locked myself in a toilet and tried to kill myself,” she said.
“The trauma of vicious childhood [abuse] is nothing compared to the trauma of the criminal justice system.
“So traumatising were the trials, I have no memory of them.
“I know what happened now because I briefly skim-read the transcripts; however, it is too painful to read them thoroughly.”
Ms Waring said the school and teacher had left her with “no choice but to speak up”.
“It’s a choice-less choice but the only way to healing and peace,” she said.
Ms Waring said felt “immense responsibility in telling my story in the solace that other victims may feel solace in my world”.
Goulburn Valley Grammar School principal Mark Torriero reiterated how “appalled” he was by the events which had allegedly occurred to Ms Waring.
He said while he had read media reports the school was yet to receive legal claims from Ms Waring’s lawyer which made it “difficult” to comment, with information in media reports he said the school wasn’t aware of.
“I have been principal at GVGS since 2008 and was not aware of the details of this case until Ms Waring contacted the school via our general email address on 31 March 2021 asking to open dialogue with myself as the current principal,” Mr Torriero said.
He said he exchanged emails with Ms Waring “several times” and had a Zoom meeting with her, but he said with limited knowledge of the events which happened he “sought more time to look into the events of the era more deeply”.
“I regret that it took so long to come back to Ms Waring and I understand how she may have interpreted that silence,” he said.
“I am truly sorry that this may have caused Ms Waring even more distress and I hope in time I can inform Ms Waring why it did take such a long time to come back to her.”
Dialogue stopped between Ms Waring and the school in August 2021 after she sought legal advice.
“The school’s lawyers have again formally written to Ms Waring’s lawyer expressing our ongoing offer of counselling and our willingness to engage with Ms Waring to respond to the serious concerns Ms Waring has raised,” Mr Torriero said.
If you or anyone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 131 114 or the sexual assault crisis line on 1800 806 292.