Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Atttorney-General dampens sex abuse victim expectations

Roxon defends anti-discrimination billAttorney-General Nicola Roxon has moved to rein in expectations about the scope of the national royal commission into child sexual abuse, playing down victims' hopes for compensation and warning against duplicating the work already done by state-based inquiries, reports The Australian.

In a consultation paper released last night, Ms Roxon gives victim support groups, institutions, religious organisations, state governments and others one week to have their say on the inquiry's proposed terms of reference.

The four-page paper sets out the limits of the commission's work, moving to discourage abuse victims from expectations that the commission will hear and examine every individual claim as well as ruling out specific investigative powers for the inquiry.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that victims would be able to sue the Catholic Church for compensation as a result of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Child Sexual Abuse, legal experts say.

And any victim of sexual abuse would be able to give evidence, if they wished.

The discussion paper says the commission's findings ''may extend to ensuring that there are no obstacles to the making of claims and that there is sufficient support for victims of abuse in pursuing those claims''.

Presently, the church is classified as an non-legal entity for the purpose of compensation claims, which means victims cannot sue.