La Trobe University, Australia.
Australian Catholic University, Australia.
Child Abuse Negl. 2017 Dec;74:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.09.031. Epub 2017 Oct 14.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is the largest royal commission in Australia's history and one of the largest public inquiries into institutional child abuse internationally. With an investment from the Australian government of half a billion dollars, it examined how institutions with a responsibility for children, both historically and in the present, have responded to allegations of child sexual abuse. Announced in the wake of previous Australian and international inquiries, public scandals and lobbying by survivor groups, its establishment reflected increasing recognition of the often lifelong and intergenerational damage caused by childhood sexual abuse and a strong political commitment to improving child safety and wellbeing in Australia. This article outlines the background, key features and innovations of this landmark public inquiry, focusing in particular on its extensive research program. It considers its international significance and also serves as an introduction to this special edition on the Australian Royal Commission, exploring its implications for better understanding institutional child sexual abuse and its impacts, and for making institutions safer places for children in the future.
皇家调查委员会对机构性虐待儿童问题的回应是澳大利亚历史上规模最大的皇家调查委员会之一，也是国际上对机构性虐待儿童问题进行的最大规模的公开调查之一。该委员会获得澳大利亚政府投资 5 亿美元，调查了历史上和现在负责儿童事务的机构对儿童性虐待指控的反应。该委员会是在前澳大利亚和国际调查、公众丑闻以及幸存者团体游说之后宣布成立的，这反映出人们越来越认识到儿童性虐待造成的往往是终身和代际伤害，以及澳大利亚加强儿童安全和福祉的强烈政治承诺。本文概述了这一具有里程碑意义的公开调查的背景、主要特点和创新之处，特别侧重于其广泛的研究计划。它考虑了该调查的国际意义，也作为本期刊特刊关于澳大利亚皇家调查委员会的介绍，探讨了该调查对更好地理解机构性虐待儿童及其影响以及未来使机构更安全的意义。
