The Wheeler Centre

‘Owning my story has been a vital part of my journey…I hope it will resonate with those who are struggling to come to terms with their own trauma.’ – Dassi Erlich Dassi Erlich and her sisters, Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer, grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. As young women, the three sisters accused their high school principal, Malka Leifer, of sexual abuse spanning their teenage years. In 2023, after 15 years of tireless campaigning, attempts by Leifer to escape justice by fleeing to Israel, and extradition orders, a Melbourne jury found Leifer guilty. At this exclusive Melbourne event, Dassi Erlich will discuss her new memoir, In Bad Faith, and its honest reckoning with secrecy and power. She’ll share her experience at the centre of the high-profile trial, and the cost and urgency of seeking justice for herself and for other sexual abuse survivors. Featuring an introduction by the memoir’s co-author, journalist Ellen Whinnett, this event is hosted by award-winning journalist and author Sarah Krasnostein, who reported on the trial of Leifer.