AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By court reporter Peta Carlyon
There is still a long way to go in understanding how best to help victims of child sexual abuse, which can shorten a person’s life expectancy and result in the shrinkage of their brain, a royal commission is told.
Psychiatrist Dr Carolyn Quadrio, an Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales, appeared as a witness at a Ballarat hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.
Dr Quadrio told the hearing the sexual abuse of children damaged brain development and, at worst, resulted in shrinkage of the brain and a shortened life expectancy of 10 to 20 years.
“The child feels worthless, betrayed … they feel dirty, defiled … they blame themselves,” Dr Quadrio said.
“It’s extremely damaging for the child’s psychological development.
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.