FDS Insight Magazine Nov - Dec 2022

40 ‘We need to walk free again’: former resident of Pentecostal-linked centre calls for accountability David Hardaker, crikey.com.au (17/2/22) (Image: Private media) eth Panton was 17 when her family sent her to Esther House. Like others in the Pentecostal-linked facility, the family was deeply religious. Both her parents worked as missionaries. Panton stayed for four years. After graduating from the Esther rehab program, she returned to work with the young women and girls. She became involved in Esther’s early job-training projects, such as the Esther cafe. She played the guitar and the drums to support Esther activities. She was set to teach Bible studies. She was, in many ways, Esther House’s biggest supporter. ‘‘Yes, sir. No, sir. Three bags full, sir.’ — That was me,’ she says. But Panton’s view of Esther house changed dramatically. By early 2020 she decided to take complaints about Esther to the WA police. ‘Yes, I was the one who opened the door for the girls to see the detectives and a lot of people blame me for that. I’ve been threatened. But a lot of the girls’ stories are horrific and I think some are criminal [matters]. ‘I was there from 2010 to 2014. And it wasn’t until I’d left that I realised how much psychological damage they had done. ‘I would hear a lot of people talk about how Esther got away with this and they got away with that. ‘I think I just got sick and tired of hearing so much pain and so much heartache from the things that people experienced and it just roared in me. ‘I can’t handle injustice. I think that’s something that I’ve grown up with, experiencing injustice, and now I’m old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. And if I have an B