AUSTRALIA
The Courier
December 14, 2017
By Siobhan Calafiore
Overwhelming, intense and nerve-racking are some of the words used to describe what clergy abuse survivors may be feeling as they wait for a final report.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse officially concludes when the report and recommendations are delivered to the Governor General on Friday.
But survivors still do not know when these documents will be made public or how the final recommendations will be implemented.
Ballarat’s Centre Against Sexual Assault operational director Shireen Gunn said coupled with the Christmas period, which was often a difficult time for survivors, it was a “double whammy”.
“It has been an intense and long process that was extended too because there were so many people that came forward,” Ms Gunn said of the royal commission.
“There will be very strong interest about what is going to be said in that report.
“It’s one of the big milestones for those who have been closely involved in the royal commission and given evidence, this is another one of the main events.”
Ms Gunn said even after the release of the report, there was still a lot of work to be done around recognising the abuse that occurred and supporting survivors.
She hoped the conclusion of the royal commission would not mean the community would leave the stories of abuse in the past because it was a difficult subject.
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