One virtue of this article, is that it is short: I exhort the other authors to follow this example!

Find me, if you can, a boy or a girl that were not let down.

Children can be and are traumatised by adults, by other children, by animals and by other natural and social conditions.

The kids who were sent to Vietnam to war, were far more traumatised than those who were abused sexually. If I faced a choice between conscription and being f*c**d every day as a child, I would definitely choose the latter.

If everyone who suffered under traumatising people/conditions in their childhood is to be financially compensated, then we end up in complete socialism where everyone pays everyone: whatever trauma one already suffered, now we are encouraged to become thieves as well...

Yuyutsu,

I agree with you on the length of articles; if they don't fit on one page they are boring. I find that, in at least 80% of articles, you learn everything you need to know by reading the first and last paragraphs; everything in between is just padding.

Unjust and uncaring?

Well as a survivor of many many years of institutional care! Why should the government be expected to step into the very shoes of criminal perpetrators?

Who ought to be forced by the law of the land to to redress their wrongs and not with the current tokenism.

As for me, I'll never ever ask for something never ever offered freely and by choice! As rightful recognition of past countless wrongs by countless sanctioned and protected wrong doers.

People who believe in reincarnation also believe in karma! So as you sow, so also shall you reap. Unless truncated by REAL REMORSE, redress and REAL reconciliation?

Reincarnation as believed by millions, tells us there is no easy out! Just even more karma!? You've got to go through it to get past it!

Who can say for sure and for certain, they've got it wrong?

Maybe if they opened death's door and returned with an eyewitness account?

And dare I say, redirected priorities?
Alan B.

Sexual abuse of children is appalling, traumatic and totally reprehensible. But it didn't just happen to children in institutions, in fact, far more children have been abused by family and friends of family than those in group situations.
Certainly all abused children should be given free access to counselling to help them overcome this trauma, but we cannot expect today's government to provide endless reparation for circumstances that happened in the past.
As I see it, the responsibility of government today is to provide an environment where abused children have the sense of security and support that allows them to report all abuse, regardless of perpetrator.
That means extensive education of children and provision of key personnel to be available to listen to children.
It also means far tougher sentences of anyone convicted of sexual abuse.
On a final note, whilst hearing about all the evidence in the Royal Commission recently I sometimes wondered about the feelings of all those tens of thousands of children abused by family and friends, watching the sympathy and support given to just one group. I don't disagree with the purpose of the Commission, just some acknowledgment could have been given to all those who will never be recognised or compensated.

I have definite views on this. Governments should NOT reward victims of crime.
Government responsibility to victims, is to hunt down and punish perpetrators.

No amount of money can compensate for a lifetime of damage child abuse often inflicts.
But, the absurdity of compensating victims of crime, is really highlighted with this issue of child abuse.

The Government has set a limit that only includes snowy white and pure victims, ones with no evidence of abusive tendencies caused by that abuse, which may have had outcomes of a criminal record. That is an absurd stand.

One of the very forward consequences of abused children, is a lifetime of confusion with moral issues, self destructive and abusive behaviour

dd,

I agree with you. Money in no way assuages the hurt of the victims, and it is extracted from the public without their permission. As you say, the responsibility of the authorities is to investigate and punish, not to pay off victims as do some parents with sweeties when a child hurts itself. I suspect that that the robber politicians and bureaucrats who constantly plunder the public person do so to make the victims 'go away' quicker.