More Than 5000 Victims to Give Evidence

By Hamish Fitzsimmons
ABC News
April 3, 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-03/more-than-5000-victims-to-give-evidence/4608562?section=vic

[with video]

The Royal Commission into child abuse has warned that it expects to run longer than its allotted time and is likely to hear the stories of over five thousand victims.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: In its historic first sitting, the national Royal Commission into child abuse has already warned that it's likely to overrun its 2015 deadline because of the scale of the job ahead.

From Melbourne, Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS, REPORTER: The commission says it's already received 1,200 calls about submissions. It expects many more to come forward.

PETER MCCLELLAN, COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: It has been made clear to us that it is likely that there are thousands of people throughout Australia who want to give an account of their experience to the commission. It seems likely that at least 5,000 people will want to talk to the commission.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Some think the real number of people wanting to tell their story will well exceed that figure.

VLADIMIR SELAKOVIS, ABUSE SURVIVOR: Thousands upon thousands - not just hundreds; there are thousands upon thousands of these people who are in exactly the same situation as all of us. Our stories may seem the same, but we all travelled the same road, but it was a different situation for all of us.