Rape survivor's powerful testimony after decades of silence

THREE decades after her traumatic rape and indecent assault at the hands of a family acquaintance, survivor Zara Katovsky can finally let out a triumphant cry in celebration of liberation and the path to healing.

- CHEVON BOOYSEN

In December last year, Clinton McMaster, 60, received a custodial seven year sentence for the rape and indecent assault he perpetrated against an innocent 11-year-old girl while living in her Bantry Bay family home. He was the family’s bookkeeper when the incidents occurred over a period of time between 1990 and 1991. The 11-year-old girl is Katovsky - now an adult woman - who had gone through years of counselling, in an attempt to reclaim her freedom and healing and now shares her journey of hope with others who may be shackled by silence.

“For decades, the weight of what happened lived inside me - unspoken, unresolved. I had thought about reporting many times, but the truth is, I wasn't ready. It takes everything to face something that once shattered you. I had to fight to heal, to reclaim my power, to become strong enough to carry this - not just for me, but for others too.