AUSTRALIA
The Age
July 9, 2013
Barney Zwartz
Religion editor, The Age.
From the twitterati to lonely late-night-radio listeners, reaching the vast and diverse number of Australians affected by child sexual abuse is the biggest challenge facing the royal commission in its early stages, according to its chief executive Janette Dines.
She said the commissioners were acutely aware that in hearing victims’ stories they were ”bearing witness on behalf of the nation”.
The biggest obstacle to fulfilling this duty was that such different sections of the community had to be engaged – from those late-night-radio listeners who could not be contacted any other way, to disabled people, remote indigenous communities and young Twitter followers, Ms Dines said.
”We are going to have to hire someone who works 24/7 on social media. I don’t think a lot of royal commission CEOs go on late-night radio or television or hold meet and greet sessions in regional centres with local groups who can amplify the message and plug the gaps.”
Considerable care was being taken to protect the mental health of commissioners, staff and witnesses. She said vicarious trauma was relatively little understood, and had been listed this year for the first time in the manual of psychological disorders.
Counsellors were proactively preparing commissioners and staff, debriefing them after sessions, and organising regular checks from mental health professionals.
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