After the Silence: Media reporting of child sexual abuse in the wake of the Royal Commission

Marking five years since the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (RCIRCSA) (2013-17), the After the Silence symposium will bring together academics, victim-survivor advocacy organisations, media and policymakers to discuss the legacy of this mediatised inquiry for public discussion of child sexual abuse.

The Breaking Silences: Media and the Child Abuse Royal Commission project (DP1901010282) has explored the role of media in instigating, reporting on and keeping alive the findings of the RCIRCSA. The project found that while media coverage of the royal commission was pivotal to changing the national conversation, and innovative advocacy media practices gave voice to previously untold stories, unevenness persists in media reporting practices that limit some stories being heard in public discussion.

In this one-day symposium hosted by the University of Canberra’s News & Media Research Centre, key stakeholders will reflect on justice and voice for victim-survivors, the implications for journalists reporting on child sexual abuse, lessons for future inquiries, and policy challenges for Australian and international governments.