AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
November 17, 2014
Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter
Calls to Australia’s leading child abuse helpline have quadrupled since the start of the royal commission with research finding many survivors wait 30 years or more before seeking support.
Analysis of the Adults Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA) professional support line has found that almost 100 people are coming forward each week with the majority of them aged over 40.
The study of 4000 callers found the most common age for abuse to occur was between 6-10 years of age, but the majority of callers seeking help were aged between 40-49 years old.
President of ASCA, Dr Cathy Kezelman, said the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had encouraged more people to come forward.
She said many had carried the burden of abuse for decades before seeking help.
“There is an incredible sense of shame and self-loathing which does hold people back from seeking support,” she said.
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