Former child migrants say extent of child sex abuse yet to be exposed

ABC News
April 28, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-28/former-child-migrants-say-extent-of-child-sex/5416806

The Royal Commission into child sex abuse is sitting in Perth and will focus on homes run by the Christian Brothers, where many child migrants and Australian-born children were abused from the 1940s to the '60s, with some saying the extent of abuse has yet to be uncovered.

Transcript

SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: There have been national apologies, class actions, a Senate inquiry and a feature film that brought global attention to their cause. But former child migrants shipped to Australia from the UK say the true extent of their suffering is yet to be exposed. They hope the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse sitting in Perth for the next fortnight will uncover the truth. Claire Moodie reports.

CLAIRE MOODIE, REPORTER: These are the walking wounded, survivors of homes run by the Christian Brothers in Western Australia.

ABUSE VICTIM: We want dignity, we want compassion and we want justice.

CLAIRE MOODIE: They've been waiting for decades for this day, protesting outside the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse, they hope the inquiry will lift the lid on the true horrors of their past.

MARGARET HUMPHREYS, CHILD MIGRANT TRUST: Australians and others are going to have to face this and it's going to be painful.

CLAIRE MOODIE: The commission's focusing on four boys' homes run by the Brothers in WA. The institutions housed Australian orphans and wards of the state, but also hundreds of child migrants, shipped from the UK and Malta.