Scourge of child abuse is not limited to institutions

The final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is bracing reading for Australians and confronting for the nation. “Tens of thousands of children have been sexually abused in many Australian institutions,” it says. “We will never know the true number. Whatever the number, it is a national tragedy, perpetrated over generations within many of our most trusted institutions.” That this has happened in our midst is a fact of unspeakable evil and often a consequence of unforgivable inaction. Yet perhaps more chilling is the finding that this is not only historic. “Child sexual abuse in institutions continues today,” the commission found. “We were told of many cases of abuse that occurred in the last 10 to 15 years in a range of institutions, including schools, religious institutions, foster and kinship care, respite care, health and allied services, performing arts institutions, childcare centres and youth groups. We heard in private sessions from children as young as seven years of age who had been recently abused.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/scourge-of-child-abuse-is-not-limited-to-institutions/news-story/bf2b5dbe02f4c118c79071fdfc43a9f8