Commission Urged to Hear Prisoner Victims of Child Abuse

By Judith Ireland
Sydney Morning Herald
November 26, 2012

www.smh.com.au/national/commission-urged-to-hear-prisoner-victims-of-child-abuse-20121125-2a1m8.html

''They run the risk of being the forgotten ones'' … Wayne Chamley. Photo by Penny Stephens

THE victims support group Broken Rites will call on the federal government to directly contact prison inmates and people on government benefits to make sure they are included in the royal commission on child abuse.

A Broken Rites spokesman, Wayne Chamley, said both groups were likely to have experienced high rates of child abuse but may not be inclined to participate in the royal commission, due to issues with literacy or low levels of trust in authority figures.

''They run the risk of being the forgotten ones,'' Dr Chamley said, suggesting that a letter could be sent to individuals.

He said about 40 per cent of prison inmates had a background of child abuse. Last year, a Department of Juvenile Justice report found 60 per cent of those in the NSW juvenile justice system had a history of child abuse or trauma.

Dr Chamley said he would raise the issue with federal government officials during a meeting on Wednesday, as Broken Rites submitted its feedback on the royal commission's terms of reference.

Submissions from individuals and organisations are due by the close of business on Monday as the government hurries to get the royal commission running by early next year.

''I think one would hope the government's going to be smart … about communicating with people that this is their opportunity [to have their say about child abuse],'' Dr Chamley said.

Broken Rites is also calling for about three royal commissioners, with one appointed as a ''truth commissioner'', who could travel ''to listen to the truth of victims' experiences''.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, which has welcomed the royal commission, said there could be concurrent hearings and interim reporting to ''facilitate timely action on issues''.

The federal government released a consultation paper on the term of references a week ago.

It has said that late responses may be accepted.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, said details on the number of submissions received would be released ''after the end of the period for submissions''.

After the royal commission was announced the government set up a national call centre and email address so that people could have their details passed on to the commission.

A spokesman for Ms Roxon said that as of last week there had been more than 400 phone calls, more than 1000 emails and more than 6500 visits to the website.