Bearing witness to trauma and injustice: A case study from the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Bearing witness to trauma in official inquiries is used internationally to hear directly from those with lived experience however there is little research regarding survivors’ experience of bearing witness and some evidence that these processes can be damaging, even re-traumatising for survivors. Hearing directly from trauma survivors is closely aligned to social work values especially those of empowerment and justice. This research takes a case study approach to address this gap in knowledge by examining the experience of bearing witness to trauma by male survivors and Commissioners from the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.