More Ballarat Details Tipped to Emerge from Abuse Royal Commission

ABC News
September 17, 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-17/abuse-royal-commission-tipped-to-reveal-more/4962206

Ballarat survivors of clergy sex abuse have welcomed the start of the royal commission public hearings in Sydney this week.

The public hearings began yesterday, with private hearings held in Melbourne last month.

It is not yet known when the commission will travel to Ballarat for public hearings.

Abuse survivor Andrew Collins has been campaigning for greater financial and medical support for victims while the commission hearings are ongoing.

He says he thinks the commission will see more details revealed about the extent of sexual abuse in the Ballarat community.

"I think the royal commission, because it has the extra powers that the parliamentary inquiry doesn't have, I think there is a very strong likelihood that more information will come out and I think it will be harder for institutions to actually hide," he said.

He says for some in the Ballarat community, the thought of appearing before the commission is too overwhelming.

"I know that there's a lot of other survivors out there who just can't go through that process, it's just too hard," he said.

"I mean you've got people there who struggle to get out of bed of a morning and if you can't get out of bed, it's impossible to sit down and draft a submission."

The manager of the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, Shireen Gunn, helps run a support group for sexual abuse survivors.

She says the start of the royal commission public hearings will conjure up painful memories for abuse survivors in Ballarat but many have come forward wanting to tell their stories.

"It's about the public knowing and hearing for the first time what has really gone on," she said.

"One group member said recently, he wanted the public to know what ... [is the] truth and what went on behind what appear to be just fine institutions."

She says it is important that the commission eventually travels to Ballarat to hear the survivors tell their stories in person.

"If your past history of abuse was in this town, it is even a stronger sense of achievement, being able to stand up in that town and say, 'that happened to me, here', and you are surrounded by what you know," she said.