Examining the Past and Shaping the Future

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013– 17) was one of the largest public inquiries in Australian history and one of the most important investigations into child abuse internationally. It facilitated a national conversation about justice for victims and survivors and how to improve child safety in the future. Through the examination of practices in key social institutions, including churches, schools, sporting clubs, hospitals and voluntary organisations, it provided new understandings of the widespread abuse that many people had experienced in the past and it made recommendations for a national redress scheme. The Royal Commission also recommended sweeping reforms in policies, practices and institutional cultures.

Offering valuable insights into the Royal Commission’s history and background, its social and cultural significance, and its implications for policy development and legislative reform, this book provides a wide-ranging analysis of the work of the Royal Commission and its social, psychological, legal and discursive impact. The chapters reveal not only the complexity of the matters that the Royal Commission was dealing with and the difficulties faced by the victims of child sexual abuse, but also the challenges of researching and writing about this sensitive topic.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Australian Studies.

Katie Wright is Associate Professor of Sociology at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

Shurlee Swain is Emeritus Professor at the Australian Catholic University.

Kathleen McPhillips is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Newcastle.