Russell Manser | Australian Bank Robber, Abuse Survivor, Drug Addict to Reformed Social Activist

Russell Manser, an ex-bank robber and prison escapee now fights for survivors’ reparation by helping victims access justice through the legal system.

Russell Manser, himself a survivor of institutional child sexual abuse, is a committed champion for the rights of others who have experienced these traumatic and painful abuses.

Growing up in western Sydney, Russell was committed by a Children’s Court Magistrate to the adult Long Bay Jail, despite having just turned 17 years old.

He was housed with some of the state’s worst sex offenders, resulting in him being sexually abused repeatedly. His eventual heroin dependence also started there, after his abusers injected him several times with the drug.

Prior to this, Russell had already been struggling to cope with the trauma and anger of having been sexually abused in Daruk, the notorious juvenile detention centre.

After 23 years in and out of prison, Manser spoke at the Royal commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. He handed the backpack of shame and guilt back where it belongs, to the perpetrators and those who should have ensured his care.

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