AUSTRALIA
ABC News
While the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse within Australian institutions has been welcomed by victims, lobby groups within indigenous communities believe that because of cultural and language barriers, as well as the tyranny of distance they may not get all the benefits that flow from it. The Tiwi islands, north of Darwin is one such place, where locals are still coming to terms with past allegations of sexual abuse in the catholic church.
Transcript
SCOTT BEVAN: The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse within Australian institutions has been welcomed by victims.
But lobby groups are warning it won’t reach some Indigenous Australians because of cultural and language barriers, as well as the tyranny of distance.
Laetitia Lemke travelled to the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin, the home of a former Catholic mission, where locals are still coming to terms with past allegations of sexual abuse in the church.
LAETITA LEMKE: It’s a case that’s haunted the Tiwi Islands for two decades. In 1994, multiple claims of child sexual abuse were levelled at the principal of the local boys’ school, Brother John Francis Hallett.
Marius Puruntatameri from the Tiwi Islands Shire Council says the allegations had a deep impact among residents.
MARIUS PURUNTATAMERI: It had a profound impact perhaps psychologically moreso to the children that may have been affected and perhaps the families who were going through that investigation.
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