AUSTRALIA
ABC News
Survivors of child abuse have urged a royal commission to hold public hearings in regional Victoria to allow them to tell their stories in their local community.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse has held a number of public hearings in Melbourne since it was established in early 2013, but hearings in regional areas have been conducted behind closed doors.
Abuse survivor John Coon used a private hearing in Melbourne to share his experience of being molested at the Ballarat Orphanage as a 10 year old.
Mr Coon said it was important the local community also knew what happened.
“An open hearing would do the world of good because people will know exactly what you went through,” Mr Coon said.
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