Child abuse victims live 'shorter lives' than other children, royal commission hears
People who have been abused as children live shorter lives than those
who have not been abused, a psychiatrist has told a royal commission. Dr
Carolyn Quadrio, from the UNSW School of Psychiatry, said on Monday
that children who have been abused have a life expectancy about 10 to 20
years shorter than those who have not. "They don't live as long
as children who have not been traumatised," she told the Royal
Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in
Ballarat. Trauma produced both physical and psychological damage,
affecting children's development, including their personalities and
sense of self.
