MANY survivors of child sexual abuse who are considering giving evidence at a royal commission in Canberra have not spoken of their experiences before and fear they may not be believed, a victim support group has said.
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The Canberra Rape Crisis Centre said many Canberrans had moved to the capital for work, having grown up interstate, and would therefore be in a position to report on abuses in institutions in other parts of the country.
A large number of people are expected to report their experiences of abuse to the Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which has already received about 460 calls from people in Canberra. It will hold a public hearing at the ACT's Supreme Court in June.
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre chief executive Chrystina Stanford said it was important for people to know there was counselling available for them even if they were at the very early stages of considering whether to speak up.
She said the betrayal children experienced from being abused by people who were meant to care for them left a terrible legacy.
''There are many barriers to disclosing child sexual assault,'' she said. ''Many people experience shame and self blame as an impact of being sexually assaulted as a child. Therefore there are many fears to overcome before a person feels ready to speak about their sexual abuse history.
''It is important that survivors of sexual assault feel supported and believed in the process, and also know that the abuse that happened to them is not their fault.''
Ms Stanford said Canberra would likely have its own share of complaints about organisations that have operated in the ACT.
''The ACT does have a number of other groups, institutions and organisations that the royal commission wishes to reach as is the case for all other states of Australia,'' she said.
''The numbers of people wishing to report to the royal commission are likely to trickle in over time because survivors of child sexual assault need to feel they are ready to make the decision [to proceed].''
■ The Canberra Rape Crisis Centre telephone service (6247 2525) is available for anyone wishing to discuss reporting to the royal commission, as is Relationships Australia in the ACT (1300 364 277). The support is private and confidential.
