Chapter Eleven - Impacts of institutional child sexual abuse: What we have learned from research and the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse private sessions

Abstract

The recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse were substantially informed by the evidence of the many thousands of victim/survivors (While acknowledging that different preferences exist in the use of the terms victim/survivors, we have adopted the terminology used in the Royal Commission, which is “‘victim’ when referring to a person who has experienced child sexual abuse at the time the abuse occurred. We use the term ‘survivor’ when referring to a person who has experienced child sexual abuse after the abuse occurred, such as when they are sharing their story or accessing support” (Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2017a, p. 328).) who participated in ‘private sessions’. This change to the usual format of public evidence giving in Royal Commissions reflected the need to provide a trauma-informed and survivor-led approach to giving evidence about institutional child sexual abuse. The large volume of participants who provided evidence to the commission presents an opportunity to reflect on the state of the research evidence on the impacts of institutional child sexual abuse, which was synthesised by the authors in a review completed for the Royal Commission. The combination of evidence from the private sessions and preexisting research, each with their own methodological advantages, provides a clearer picture of the pervasive effects of institutional child sexual abuse across all facets of life. Across sources, the direct impacts of abuse were identified, particularly in terms of immediate mental health impacts and the effects of long-term trauma on education, employment, and relationships. The private sessions add new insights to how these effects may continue to manifest in later life including parenting, grandparenting, and entering aged care. The private sessions also shed further light on how abuse interacts with personal characteristics, engagement with the institution in which abuse was perpetrated, and the role of support of caregivers, family, and local communities in influencing the impacts of abuse. While not necessarily a representative sample, the survivors that provided evidence to the Royal Commission have made an important contribution to the research evidence by highlighting the pernicious and complex effects of abuse over the life-course. Advancing knowledge of the full range of impacts can help advance support services and sensitise other services to the multifaceted needs of victims and survivors.