I N T E R R E L AT E . O R G . AU
Breaking the cycle – your greatest success
Our Royal Commission Community Based Support Service supports people who have been affected by child sexual
abuse and who are distressed by the work of the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The program can be tailored to individual needs and assists with information and referral, face-to-face and telephone
counselling, support and case management, referrals to and engagement with the Royal Commission, and attendance at
and debriefing after the Royal Commission.
Greg’s story
“I was 11 years old when I was sexually abused while in custody. Through my contact with the Royal Commission, I was put in touch
with Interrelate, whose staff currently provide me with ongoing counselling via telephone on a regular basis.
As I am now in custody again, I attempted to access help via both NSW Corrective Services and Justice Health. Both, however,
refused to address the mental-health issues this caused me, stating it was against departmental policy to discuss my issues in
custody. Naturally, this caused me further distress by considering the length of my current sentence – being a top of 23 years,
“I attempted
to ignore my
past in a
hopeless
attempt
to live a
normal life”
which contributed to my last suicide attempt in 2013. Although I was promised to be supported in coming forward to the Royal
Commission, it was more than 12 months before I received assistance.
The work that Interrelate and I have done together has not been easy at times. In fact, at times it has been extremely hard for
me to work through, especially given that many of the experiences I face in custody today relate to the issues, the attitudes and
the responses I faced 11 years ago following the sexual abuse. For a very long time, I attempted to ignore my past in a hopeless
attempt to live a normal life. This has failed to work, obviously! The counselling work I have done to date with Interrelate has been
extremely helpful in many aspects. Firstly, it has enabled me to dig into that which I attempted to ignore and it has allowed me
a greater understanding into the way in which my past experiences can and do affect my current situations – thereby giving me
a better chance to take proper control of my emotions, allowing me to respond to the current situation and not the emotional
responses it has triggered. I feel this has allowed me to focus a lot more, making my thinking a lot clearer and leaving me feeling a
lot calmer. This I believe has enabled me to focus on a plan for my future that I feel is obtainable and gives me a meaning.
While I understand that nothing will ever undo what happened to me, I hope that the counselling continues to assist me in this
way and that others are able to access the service and obtain similar results in time.”
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