Royal Commission into child sex abuse to hold private sessions in the Kimberley

Courier Mail
May 18, 2014

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/royal-commission-into-child-sex-abuse-to-hold-private-sessions-in-the-kimberley/story-fnii5thq-1226921956695

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines.

THE Royal Commission investigating child sex abuse in institutions will hold private sessions in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on Monday.

Officers from the commission will be in Broome and Kununurra to meet with people interested in sharing their story.

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines says the visit will provide an important opportunity for people who were sexually abused as children in institutions to disclose their mistreatment.

“We strongly encourage all survivors who wish to share their story in private with a commissioner to make contact with the Royal Commission or a local support service,” Ms Dines said.

She said more than 1500 private sessions have been held across Australia to date, including more than 160 in Western Australia.

“We are determined to ensure that regional and Aboriginal communities have a voice in this process, and we are working with local community organisations and support services to encourage survivors of child sexual abuse to tell their story to the Royal Commission.”

Commissioners will also revisit the remote Kimberley from June 3 to hold further private sessions with victims.

They will run concurrent with a public hearing in Perth which is examining how a private school handled the case of a teacher who was molesting children for almost a decade.