AUSTRALIA
Los Angeles Times
By Emily Alpert
April 3, 2013
Australia launched a sweeping national inquiry Wednesday into the sexual abuse of children, holding its first public hearing in a Melbourne court to start what a government statement called “a healing process for survivors and their families.”
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the newly opened Royal Commission into the Sexual Abuse of Children will hear the stories of abuse victims and make recommendations about stopping such crimes, and can refer suspected abusers to the police for possible prosecution. It will cover a vast array of institutions including schools, churches, child-care centers, recreational groups and detention centers.
“We’ve let children down in the past as a country,” Gillard said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “We need to learn what we can do as a nation to better protect our children in the future.”
The inquiry follows the revelation last year that hundreds of children had been abused by Roman Catholic clergy in Victoria state since the 1930s. The government was also galvanized by an open letter from a New South Wales police detective who accused the church of concealing abuse.
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