AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM
[with audio]
MARK COLVIN: One of Australia’s foremost child protection experts, Dr Freda Briggs, believes that millions of Australians have been victims of child abuse.
She says a royal commission can only deal with that by restricting its terms of reference to the systems which ignored or covered up the abuse, and she hopes the inquiry will come up with a new jurisdiction to deal with child sex abuse cases.
Emeritus Professor Briggs spoke to Alexandra Kirk.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: No doubt the royal commission will be a very painful experience for victims and their families; do you have advice as to how they should prepare themselves?
FREDA BRIGGS: Yes, you’re absolutely right because I was involved helping quite a few of the men who went to the Mullighan Inquiry and it is extraordinarily difficult for men to be able to go and talk about what happened to them because they very often haven’t told anybody.
They’re worried that other people will find out. I mean what they need is an absolute assurance of confidentiality and privacy unless they themselves want their story published, possibly anonymously.
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