MELBOURNE, April 3 (UPI) -- Advocates rallied outside the County Court in Melbourne, Australia, as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse met Wednesday.
During opening remarks, the chairman of the commission, Justice Peter McClellan, said more than 5,000 people would share their stories of sex abuse as part of the body's investigation.
The commission is investigating residential care facilities, religious organizations, recreational and sporting groups and state government departments, among other groups, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph said.
Each of the witnesses will need at least an hour to speak with the commission, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
"Although a painful process, if a community is to move forward, it must come to understand where wrongs have occurred and so far as possible, right those wrongs," he said.
An initial report is due by mid next year, and a final report by December 2015, but McClellan said it is unlikely the body will meet the deadline.
The commission plans to start holding private discussions with victims in May, and public hearings will take place afterward, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. said.
The body will then provide the government with recommendations.
