AUSTRALIA
Illawarra Mercury

By LOUISE TURK Oct. 9, 2014

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is providing a unique opportunity for sexual assault victims to have their stories heard and understood, according to Wollongong-based lawyer Aaron Kernaghan.

Mr Kernaghan has been in the commission this week representing Barbara Taylor, a senior pastor with Emmanuel Christian Family Church in Plumpton.

Ms Taylor has been giving evidence in the public hearing in Sydney which is inquiring into the responses by Australian Christian Churches and two affiliated churches to allegations of child sexual abuse.

Mr Kernaghan, a former prosecutor, said the commission far surpassed anything he had seen in the criminal justice system in terms of providing opportunities for people directly or indirectly affected by child sexual abuse to share their experiences in appropriate ways.