Disabled South Australians have been physically and sexually abused by their carers for decades and their cries for help ignored, a Senate inquiry has heard.
Peak disability groups and victims used Friday's hearing into the abuse of people with disabilities in Adelaide to call for a royal commission into the issue and a national complaints watchdog.
"They've been bullied, psychologically abused, some people sexually abused where they live and they have reported it and in many, many instances have been ignored," inquiry chairwoman and Western Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert told AAP.
"You have people fearing repercussions that they won't be believed and that there will be repercussions. With a physical disability, they're dependent on the person they're reporting about."
"So it's harrowing and devastating to hear the accounts that people are telling us."
Friday's hearing took evidence from organisations including Dignity for Disability and Adelaide People First, as well as the South Australian attorney-general and local police.
The inquiry began in April and has already heard from victims and groups in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.
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