The Salvation Army Australia eastern territory and the Royal Commission

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will commence a public hearing tomorrow (28 Jan 2014) into four boys' homes operated by The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory prior to the 1980s.

The early phase of the hearing will be a time for former residents to share their experiences with The Royal Commission. It is our role to listen.

The Salvation Army feels deep regret for every instance of child sexual abuse inflicted on children who were in our care. We are grieved that such things happened. We acknowledge that it was a failure of the greatest magnitude.

Representatives of The Salvation Army will appear before The Royal Commission to answer questions about the way The Salvation Army responded to allegations of sexual abuse in the homes.

Today’s Salvation Army has strong policies and procedures to protect children and ensures the protection of children is the most serious of our obligations. We continue to improve our processes so that children will never be placed in situations like this again and welcome the recommendations from The Royal Commission on how we can further protect children in our care.

The Salvation Army encourages anyone who has suffered abuse to contact our Centre for Restoration on (02) 9266 9781 or at centreforrestoration@aue.salvationarmy.org.