AUSTRALIA
The Conversation
Michael Salter
Lecturer in Criminology at University of Western Sydney
On Monday, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its interim report, detailing for the first time the full scope and comprehensiveness of its inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse in Australia.
In the report, the commissioners list the valuable outcomes of their inquiries to date. This includes holding more than 1600 private sessions and receiving more than 1600 written accounts from survivors of sexual abuse. By the end of May, more than 160 allegations had been referred to police.
By the end of June, 13 public hearings had been held around Australia to examine particular case studies of institutional abuse. Over 1000 people are still waiting to attend a private session, and the commissioners have identified 70 cases of institutional abuse that deserve a public hearing.
The report details the impacts of the royal commission to date, including substantive cultural and policy shifts within institutions with responsibility for children. The commission has also gathered vital and previously unavailable data on the dynamics of institutional abuse as well as commissioning original research in the area. This work will inform child protection policy well into the future.
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