Child abuse victims: Forget-me-knot

14 Nov 2009, 10:40 am   -   Source: AAP
1 Comments
Share This
+ Comment
1
Victims of child abuse were remembered at the launch of Forget-Me-Knot day today. (Getty)

Victims of child abuse were remembered at the launch of Forget-Me-Knot day today. (Getty)

Victims of child abuse grow up, but they don't leave the abuse behind them, Senator Mark Arbib said at the launch of Forget-me-knot day on Friday.

RELATED

Victims of child abuse grow up, but they don't leave the abuse behind them, Senator Mark Arbib said at the launch of Forget-me-knot day on Friday.

The day aims to highlight the struggle adult victims go through as they try to untangle the knots of child abuse.

Click here to read the personal story of a Forgotten Australian.

"As a society we sometimes forget that abused children grow up," Senator Arbib, the founder of Parliamentarians Against Child Abuse and Neglect, told reporters at the launch.

"They don't leave that abuse in their childhood and many go through life with a misplaced sense of shame, suffering in silence," he said.

The Adults Surviving Child Abuse (ASCA) organisation, which is behind Forget-me-knot day, says 76 per cent of women and 72 per cent of men with severe mental illness have been abused.

Silence 'harmful'

ASCA chairperson Cathy Kezelman said people found the trauma of child abuse hard to comprehend so it was often ignored.

"Society is slowly recognising that silence around child abuse is harmful," Dr Kezelman said.

"Community and government acknowledgement and support for survivors is critical for their healing process," she said.

Senator Arbib agreed, saying that ignoring the problem gave power to abusers.

"Child abuse is challenging and disturbing but it is too important to sweep under the carpet," he said.

"With the right help and support, survivors can find their way through the tangle of child abuse and find a sense of wellbeing and re-engage positively in their communities."
 

 

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

Justice will be Swift

jessica johnson - from Australia, 3 years ago

I am Jessica Johnson a transgender and I would like you all to know that society doesn't understand the pain a child suffers at the hands of abusers for it never ever goes away, thus justice must be swift & absolute

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.