Dr Rachel Carling-Jenkins, 42, was first elected as a Democratic Labor Party member in Victoria in 2014, resigning from the DLP this year and joining the Australian Conservatives. Her background is in the welfare sector and has led her to become a vocal advocate for those without a voice, particularly the rights of people with disabilities, their carers and families. She is also an activist against the sex trade, which is how I first met her.
In February last year, Rachel discovered that her husband of ten years, Gary Jenkins, had an extensive collection of child sex abuse materials on his computer. After reporting him to police, he was subsequently convicted and served four months in jail (this is considered a high sentence in Victoria).
Rachel first revealed what had happened to her in a speech delivered to stunned silence in the Victorian Parliament. Parliament was suspended due to the distress of members. (See a deeply affecting extract of Rachel’s speech in Parliament). The MP has been criticised by some for speaking out about what happened, including friends, saying she should have stood by her husband and that he was ‘just looking’ … with no understanding that he was in fact fueling the evil trade in the rape and torture of children. A redeeming aspect of her ordeal is that Rachel is now being contacted by survivors of the child sex abuse industry as well as women whose partner’s have consumed images and videos of children being abused. By speaking out, she has given many others courage to do so.
See also:
Pay Per View Torture: Why Are Australian Telcos and ISPs Enabling a Child Sexual Abuse Pandemic?, MTR
2 Responses
What a horrendous experience. Thank you so much Rachel for sharing something so painful.
I have reported an ex-husband for countless crimes – sexting my son, creating a suspicious internet video using children’s photos, and his connection to a criminal domain trafficking child porn for the last 2 years and he is still free. He retaliates with all types of stalking and death threats.