AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
Helen Davidson in Sydney
theguardian.com, Monday 16 September 2013
Outside the building on the first day of the public hearing of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, representatives from the Care Leavers Australia Network (Clan), an advocacy and support group for people who grew up in Australian institutions and suffered abuse, gathered in the wind and rain to make their presence felt.
Inside, the commission would hear from two men who were assaulted as children by their former scout leader, the since-convicted paedophile Steven Larkins. It also heard from former scout leaders and employees who faced the hearing to answer questions as to how a man who was the subject of police investigations and numerous allegations of suspicious behaviour was allowed to remain working with children for years.
In his opening address, Justice Peter McClellan said: “I did not adequately appreciate the devastation and long-lasting effect which sexual abuse, however inflicted, can have on an individual’s life.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.