Restoring our spirits – reshaping our futures

In response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse this report sets out a culturally based healing framework for understanding and responding to trauma experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who as children were sexually abused within public or private institutions. The report draws on the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors and service providers involved in healing work, the work of the Healing Foundation and the broader literature on trauma and healing. It provides a cultural perspective on the incidence of child sexual abuse in this context, the nature and impact of trauma, healing strategies and practices, and healing responses.