The Junior Headmaster's Daughter: Stepping from the shadows of sexual assault by Joanna Mary
The Junior Headmaster’s Daughter is the debut memoir of child sexual assault survivor Joanna Mary.
It explores her childhood at Geelong Grammar, the abuse she faced by a known friend of the family and school doctor, her darkest days into depression and addiction and the journey towards recovery.
Joanna Mary was the second of five daughters to an English school teacher and his English wife.
The family moved from England to Geelong in 1969, so that Joanna's father could begin a wonderful teaching career.
The family lived at Geelong Grammar School for most of her childhood years. It was during these years that Joanna was sexually abused by friends of her parents on a number of occasions.
Because of the ethos at the school and because of the old-fashioned values, the abuse was never dealt with.
In fact, it was virtually swept under the carpet even when the family found out about it.
Unfortunately, there were numerous other sexual abuse victims at the school during the 70s, 80s and 90s.
None of these were dealt with either.
This book is about her struggles as a victim and now a survivor of child sexual abuse.
about THE author
Joanna Mary is child sexual abuse survivor turned author from north east Victoria who advocates for children and survivors of institutional sexual abuse in Australia.
In 1969, her parents and four sisters moved from England to Australia where her father began his career in teaching at Geelong Grammar School. Joanna and her sisters spent most of their childhood at the school, and this was also the place where she was sexually abused by the school’s doctor (and close friend of her parents) on a number of occasions.
At the time, and due to the school’s ethos and old-fashioned values, the abuse was never dealt with. It was swept under the rug by teachers and by her family. Joanna was not the only child abused at the hands of the school’s doctor, or during this period. In fact, there were a number of other children who were harmed by the school during the 70s, 80s and 90s.
This assault affected her immensely, and Joanna turned to eating disorders, then alcohol and drugs to numb the pain. She clawed her way back from the darkness, worked in the service industry and farming.
When the Royal Commission investigated Geelong Grammar and found them complicit, Joanna felt like she could finally breathe. Someone finally recognised what herself and so many other children had gone through.
Now, Joanna spends a great deal of time raising awareness and helping survivors follow a path to a better life. She has reached out to multiple organisations and is closely in touch with Geelong Grammar Schools Healing and Hope.
When she isn’t advocating or writing, Joanna travels around Australia with her husband. In the winter months, they spent their time exploring the Pilbara and Kimberley Regions of northern Western Australia. In the summer, she spends time on a farm near Geraldton.
Acknowledgement of Country
Coven Press pays deep respects to the traditional custodians and original storytellers of the lands on which we live and work, the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin nation, and recognise their continuing connection to the lands, waterways and skies. We acknowledge the Aboriginal history of storytelling and respect the privilege to contribute to this ongoing tradition.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend this to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.