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Child abuse helpline calls quadruple: survivors wait decades to seek support

By Rachel Browne
Sydney Morning Herald
November 17, 2014

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/child-abuse-helpline-calls-quadruple-survivors-wait-decades-to-seek-support-20141116-11mw5y.html

Many survivors of child abuse wait 30 years or more before seeking support.

Calls to Australia's leading child abuse helpline have quadrupled since the start of the royal commission with research finding many survivors wait 30 years or more before seeking support.

Analysis of the Adults Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA) professional support line has found that almost 100 people are coming forward each week with the majority of them aged over 40.

The study of 4000 callers found the most common age for abuse to occur was between 6-10 years of age, but the majority of callers seeking help were aged between 40-49 years old.

President of ASCA, Dr Cathy Kezelman, said the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had encouraged more people to come forward.

She said many had carried the burden of abuse for decades before seeking help.

"There is an incredible sense of shame and self-loathing which does hold people back from seeking support," she said.

"People still worry about not being believed which is another deterrent."

ASCA's professional support line employs 14 specialist counsellors who work seven days a week but only between 9am-5pm. Dr Kezelman said ASCA hoped to fund an evening support service.

"We have more counsellors to fulfil the demand but it's not just about the number of calls, we also need to take the complexity of the cases into account," she said.

ASCA will launch a social media campaign this week to support the estimated 5 million adult survivors of childhood trauma in Australia, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Retired nurse Barbara, who suffered both physical and sexual abuse as a child, kept quiet for decades until she felt brave enough to speak out.

Now 68, Barbara was abused in foster care and in institutions as a child but did not speak publicly about it until about 15 years ago.

"I didn't want to tell anyone because I was worried no one would believe me and I was embarrassed so I just said nothing," said the Brisbane woman who does not want her surname disclosed.

She is no longer ashamed and says speaking about the abuse has helped her recover."I used to be very quiet and subdued," she said. "Not any more. I'm not afraid to speak out anymore. They are not going to make me a victim any more. I am over being a victim."

 

 

Contact: rbrowne@fairfaxmedia.com.au




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