The support group for victims of
sexual abuse, Broken Rites, has proposed that victims be given the opportunity
to tell their stories as part of the proceedings to be undertaken by the
upcoming Royal Commission.
According to the Fairfax press on
Monday, the group's spokesman, Dr Wayne Chamely, is advocating that a 'truth commissioner' be
appointed specifically for the purpose of listening to victims. The
commissioner 'would move around and meet people in their own communities' and
carry out this function concurrently with the Commission's other terms of
reference.
At the heart of this proposal is a
conviction that the Royal Commission must be as victim-friendly as possible if
it is to get at the whole truth, contribute to the healing of victims, educate
the public about this entrenched issue and its origins, and generate effective
recommendations.
Broken Rites is clearly concerned
that the Royal Commission may not be able to adequately accommodate victims
because some may not feel comfortable testifying in such a setting or will not
be heard because the Commission, due to its anticipated huge work load, will
have to be selective.
Faced with similar challenges, East
Timor's groundbreaking truth commission opted to take a system-wide
victim-friendly approach to its work.
The
Comissao de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliacao (CAVR) (or Commission for
Reception, Truth and Reconciliation) functioned 2001–2005 and was set up to
address the huge number of human rights violations committed 1974–1999,
particularly during the Indonesian occupation, including widespread sexual
violence.
Its core mandate focused on
establishing the truth about these violations, facilitating community
reconciliation, and reporting on its work, inquiry, findings and
recommendations.
Sensitivity to victims informed
every aspect of the CAVR's design, structure, operation and reporting. Its
enabling legislation required the commission 'to assist in restoring the
dignity of victims' and it employed a number of strategies to achieve this.
Some were procedural, such as
consulting victims about the commission's terms of reference and the selection
of commissioners, bringing victims together to share their experiences with
other victims, recording and preserving victim testimony, and administering an
urgent reparations scheme for the most vulnerable victims.
Others were organisational, such as
allocating a victim portfolio to one of CAVR's seven commissioners and
establishing a victims unit charged with ensuring that the needs and rights of
victims were addressed across the commission's activities.
The centrepiece of this
victim-friendly approach was listening to victims. For this to work,
significant planning, resources and time were invested in preparing communities
and victims, particularly women who'd suffered sexual violence, to participate
and share terrifying experiences that would have led to recrimination under the
previous regime. CAVR teams spent three months in each sub-district for
this purpose.
Victims were invited to give
statements about their experiences and to testify at local hearings. and some
were invited on a representative basis to speak at national hearings. In
response and in addition to their input at community reconciliations, victims
provided some 8000 statements and testified freely and openly at 350 local
hearings and eight national public hearings.
These hearings, particularly the
national hearings held in the capital, broadcast live and attended by
high-level Timorese, were expressions of solemn respect and solidarity for
victims. In addition to providing evidence, the hearings assisted the
healing of victims by honouring their contribution both to East Timor's
liberation and, through their stories, to the building of a culture of human
rights, non-violence and rule of law in the new nation.
The material gathered has been
archived and disseminated in multiple languages in video, print and other
formats to help East Timor's booming youth population appreciate the sacrifices
made on their behalf and to benefit from the lessons learned from this deeply
traumatic period.
Indonesia, home of the principal
perpetrators, did not interfere with the process.
The CAVR methodology was not perfect
and, in retrospect, could have been even more victim-friendly. Some of its core
recommendations, including a call for a reparations program, have not yet been
implemented seven years after being tabled in the East Timor parliament, a
source of considerable disappointment to aging victims.
Two principal conclusions can be
drawn from the East Timor experience for Australia's Royal
Commission. First, a victim-friendly process is desirable, achievable and
productive. If East Timor after decades of war and devastation could do it,
Australia certainly can.
However victims should not take for
granted that the high level of public and political support the Royal
Commission proposal currently enjoys will translate into implementing its
recommendations down the track. CAVR enjoyed similar levels of support at its
inception. Sadly, East Timor's experience is that victims need to organise and
mobilise if they are to see their recommendations implemented.
Pat Walsh worked in East Timor for ten years, mostly as part
of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconcilation.
The UN recruited him to help establish the Commission and he served variously
as its executive director and special adviser. Eureka Street article
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