The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse has held a number of public hearings in Melbourne since it was set up two years ago, but equivalent seminars in regional centres have been held privately.

Geelong lawyer Penny Savidis said the hearings provided an opportunity for child abuse survivors to open up about their traumatic early years.

She said many institutions where child abuse cases occurred were based in regional Victoria, particularly in Ballarat and Geelong.

“It is important for many survivors of child abuse to publicly express their anguish and to reveal what happened to them in their own community,” Ms Savidis said.

“Many of our clients live in Ballarat and Geelong and some have travelled to Melbourne to be involved in the public hearings held as part of the ‘Melbourne Response’.

“These hearings provide immense value to victims because they’ve had to remain silent for so long, 30 or 40 years in some cases.”

Former prime minister Julia Gillard announced the creation of a royal commission in late 2012, following on from the success of a state-based inquiry in Victoria. Six commissioners head the inquiry, including former Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson and veteran judge Jennifer Coate.

A number of institutions have made submissions to the royal commission including churches of various denominations, charities and some sporting organisations.

Ms Savidis said the commission was scheduled to complete 70 case studies nationally via the public hearing process before its December 2017 deadline.

As of December last year, 21 case studies have been in the public hearing limelight.