Gabrielle Morrissey accused of misappropriating funds from domestic violence charity she led

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

The former CEO of a Sydney domestic violence charity has reached a confidential settlement after she agreed to pay back $150,000 in lieu of funds she had been accused of appropriating.
Gabrielle Morrissey was CEO of Sydney charity Women and Children First, which supports women experiencing domestic violence, from November 2022 to June 2024.
The ABC has seen a document in which Women and Children First accuse Dr Morrissey of defrauding the charity, and alleging the money was paid out for what appeared to be her personal benefit.
The charity's board chair Julie Ryan said in a statement that Dr Morrissey resigned from her position on June 15 last year.
"In June 2024, Women and Children First made a complaint to NSW Police in relation to Dr Morrissey. NSW Police commenced an investigation into the complaint," she said.
"Without any admission of liability, Women and Children First and Dr Morrissey have reached a confidential settlement in relation to the matters subject of the complaint.
"Women and Children First and Dr Morrissey now regard the matter as resolved from a civil perspective."
The confidential settlement include Dr Morrissey agreeing to pay $150,000 to Women and Children First, in return for being released from civil liability by the charity in relation to the complaint it made to police.
The settlement terms also included the charity agreeing to send a letter to NSW Police saying that it was content for the fraud investigation to be terminated.
Dr Morrissey told the ABC she had no comment to make on the confidential settlement.
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Women and Children First received $2.2 million from governments in 2023-24, according to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
Dr Morrissey is now the CEO of Women's Resilience Centre, a Sydney charity that runs online programs to help Australian women recover from domestic violence.
Women's Resilience Centre did not respond to the ABC's request for comment.
Dr Morrissey's biography on the Harper Collins Australia website states she has been a sexologist since 1990 and has worked in sex therapy, education and research in Australia, Britain and the US.
She has published her books including Spicy Sex — 52 Sumptuous and Saucy Sex Recipes for Red-hot Loving Every Week of the Year, and Urge: Hot Secrets for Great Sex.
Dr Morrissey received her Masters in Human Sexuality Education from the University of Pennsylvania and her PhD in Human Sexuality/Health Science from Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, according to her profile on Australian speakers' bureau Celebrity Speakers.