Madeleine West 

Actor Mother of 7 Advocate Abuse survivor 

Former Neighbours star Madeleine West  is embracing her newborn seventh child, several years after splitting from her ex Shannon Bennett father to her beautiful brood of six .. well she thought it was menopause turned out to be a baby at 47 !

Mother of 7, advocate, survivor and ambassador for the newly created Cntrl Shift organisation  she’s on a mission to protect children educate organisations parents and childcare authorities . As a victim of abuse herself she’s raw and determined.

Her tenacity is particularly remarkable in light of the trauma she has recently experienced again. She courageously sought to hold her abuser accountable after disclosing childhood abuse in 2023, which led to a landmark court decision. This particularly difficult period of her life has given her a new sense of direction. 

With recent disturbing reports of child abuse in dozens of childcare centres across Melbourne it’s triggering and distressing but Mad is determined to fight and use her anger as fuel for change 

So I’m are thrilled to welcome this passionate powerful woman to Wil podcast 

Childcare centres that egregiously fail to meet minimum standards will still have a month’s grace period to resolve their problems before the government steps in to strip them of taxpayer funding, under new laws proposed by the Albanese government.

The rules were introduced to federal parliament on Wednesday following a spate of sexual abuse allegations levelled against Victorian childcare worker Joshua Brown, claims of children being mistreated in NSW, and earlier incidents in Queensland. Is this finally the beginning of action ?

Madeleine West is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Her abuser, Peter Vincent White, was her next-door neighbour in rural Victoria. West was just four years old and it continued until she was 11. 

In 2022, decades on from the crime, West proved instrumental in the case against White. On the morning of June 13, the actor was fitted with a wire and confronted White. 

In 2023, White pleaded guilty to 33 offences and was handed a 15-year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of seven children.

She now wants the parents of other children who have faced unimaginable trauma to feel educated about what trauma feels like. This is her story, in her own words.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/

Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk

Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850