Child sexual abuse royal commission hands over stories of survivors in book 'too heavy to lift'

By Nour Haydar and Staff

Updated about 3 hours ago


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/child-sex-abuse-royal-commission-final-hea...


It was a day of reckoning for many victims of child sexual abuse, with a book of their accounts of suffering handed to the National Library of Australia (NLA) on the final day of the royal commission.

After 57 public hearings spanning five years, 1,300 witness accounts and more than 8,000 harrowing personal stories from survivors, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was finally wrapped up by the chair, the Honourable Justice Peter McClellan.

"Although the primary responsibility for the sexual abuse of a child lies with the abuser and the institution which they were part, we cannot avoid the conclusion that the problems faced by many people who have been abused are the responsibility of our entire society," he said.

Justice McClellan said 4,000 individual institutions from across the country had been reported to the commission as places where abuse occurred.

More than 2,500 allegations have been reported by the royal commission to police and so far 230 prosecutions have begun.

Justice McClellan thanked survivors and advocates for sharing their stories.

"For victims and survivors, telling their stories has required great courage and determination," he said.

He said survivors' stories had had a profound impact on the commissioners and staff.

Justice McClellan gave special mention to senior counsel assisting the royal commission, Gail Furness SC, who would have handed the Messages to Australia book to the NLA representative had it not been "too heavy to lift".

There are anonymous accounts of more than 1,000 Australians who experienced the horrors of sexual abuse as children, with Ms Furness reading excerpts:

    "For us that once had no voice, now we can be heard. And for us whose lives were destroyed, now we can begin to heal," one account read.

Justice McClellan said: "Child sexual abuse is a hideous, shocking and vile crime and it is clear from what is already in the public domain that too many children were the subject of child sexual abuse in institutions."
'Police often refused to believe children'

how anyone can listen to that for 5 long years I will never know...

I would be a  basket case...I would throw away the keys...  to me everything about this is unforgivable..

some good had better come out of this...the protection for these monsters has to stop...we expose those who are accused of sexual harassment..like Geoffrey Rush..yet someone accused of sexual abuse of a child  is given all sorts of protection....almost as if the child is to blame...stop pretending it will damage the child...

the child has already been damaged  and these bastards get away with it....

I am sure the taxpayers splurge on this paid for plenty of private school educations and very expensive cars.

In essence it was a waste of money, as shown by how many people have been jailed from the inquiry.

This link contains findings of different churches and a religious community. It starts with the Salvation Army ...

"After the lights went out 'round 7:00pm every night, Lieutenant Spratt would come out of the room in the dark so no one would see what he was doing. Whenever I heard his door open, I thought to myself, 'I hope he's not coming to my bed'.

"When I heard him go into someone else's bed I felt relieved that he had left me alone for the night …

"I tried to explain to the new boys, when the Salvation Army officers were not watching me, to let them do what they wanted to do to you, because if you don't you're going to have to cop something that you don't want." — Survivor witness FP, January 29 2014


The sex abuse royal commission went to some dark places — here's some of what it found

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/royal-commission-child-sex-abuse-case-stud...

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philperth2010 wrote on Dec 14^th, 2017 at 10:53pm:


I hope so, they know each other well. Perhaps that's why Tony walks the way he does.

Bobby. wrote on Dec 14^th, 2017 at 6:29pm:

..or torture them with boiling water 

Setanta wrote on Dec 14^th, 2017 at 11:44pm:


I believe Tony was an alter boy???