Survivors of sexual assault and institutional abuse are urging the community to listen to their stories and learn from their experiences to destigmatise the topic and encourage people to disclose.

Natalie Gauci captured audiences when she won Australian Idol in 2007 but says her success was followed by a downward spiral that took years to recover from.

It wasn't until 2020 that she revealed allegations she had been sexually abused by a music teacher as a teenager.

She launched a civil claim in Victoria against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the teacher who allegedly abused her, who was a convicted sex offender.

"It wasn't until I disclosed to the media that I mentioned his name and asked people to come forward for the court case (and) there were over 25 people who came forwa

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