Victims of Sexual Abuse in Ballarat Give Evidence

ABC News
September 20, 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-20/victims-of-sexual-abuse-in-ballarat-give-evidence/4971516?section=vic

[with audio]

Even before this week's public hearings in the Royal Commission into institutional child sexual abuse opened, hundreds of victims had been given the opportunity to give evidence at private hearings. Some of those victims came from the central Victorian city of Ballarat, a community with a long and much publicised history of sexual abuse.

SCOTT BEVAN: Even before this week's public hearings in the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse opened, hundreds of victims had been given the opportunity to give evidence at private hearings.

Some of those who have given evidence come from the central Victorian city of Ballarat, a community that has lived with a long and much publicised history of sexual abuse.

As others wait for the Commissioners to come to Ballarat, there are calls for survivors to receive greater support and for more action to prevent suicides resulting from abuse.

From Ballarat, Kate Stowell reports.

KATE STOWELL: The famed gold rush city of Ballarat is full of history.

The city is decorated with the opulent legacy of wealth, grand churches and halls from the late 19th century, when gold money spawned a renaissance of European architecture, amid the clash of cultures of all those who came here to make their fortune.

But the city is also known for its difficult and painful history with sexual abuse in the local churches, school and orphanages.

Abuse survivor Andrew Collins is one of the many in Ballarat who have spoken out.

ANDREW COLLINS: Ballarat was one of the worst places in Australia, if not one of the worst places in the world. The community needs to go through this process. As hard as it is, the community needs to hear everything. And the community needs to heal as well. Not just victims.

You've got to acknowledge the past before you can move on. And that's definitely one thing that needs to happen in Ballarat.

KATE STOWELL: Andrew Collins says it's been a long road for Ballarat survivors to the Royal Commission, with many survivors appearing before the separate Victorian parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse earlier this year.

Mr Collins thinks the Royal Commission will see even more details revealed about the extent of sexual abuse in the Ballarat community.

ANDREW COLLINS: I think the Royal Commission, because it has the extra powers that the parliamentary inquiry doesn't have, it will be harder for institutions to actually hide.

KATE STOWELL: Andrew Collins says for many, watching the Commission hearings on television and radio will conjure up new and painful memories.

ANDREW COLLINS: There needs to be some recognition that this is going to be very, very hard for victims. They'll not only be seeing and hearing it quite often, but they'll be reliving their own traumas over and over.

There needs to be recognition that they need help to get through this process. Because the last thing we want is to see any more deaths and suicides

KATE STOWELL: A group of Ballarat survivors are calling for a change in their pension classification and greater mental health services for survivors and support workers in regional areas like Ballarat and the Hunter Valley, where there are large numbers of people preparing for the Commission.

One of those providing support in Ballarat is Shireen Gunn, from the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault.

She says it's important that the Commission eventually travels to the city to hear the survivors tell their stories in person.

SHIREEN GUNN: 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 this happened to me, here, and you are surrounded by what you know.

KATE STOWELL: Shireen Gunn says while the Commission hearings will be a difficult time for many, her clients are looking forward to telling their stories.

SHIREEN GUNN: It's about the public knowing and hearing for the first time, what has really gone on. One group member said recently that he wanted the public to know what was his truth, which, and that what went on behind what appeared to be just fine institutions.

KATE STOWELL: Andrew Collins is working with the Ballarat City Council on plans for a public memorial for the more than 40 people with believed links to abuse in Ballarat, who have taken their own lives.

SCOTT BEVAN: Kate Stowell reporting from Ballarat.