Tagged children and young people ‘failed by the system’ as independent inquiry reveals abuse of more than 30,000 people in state or religious care from 1950 to 2019.
Some 200000 children, young people, and vulnerable adults were abused by personnel of New Zealand’s state and faith-based institutions in the course of seven decades, an independent inquiry stated.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care in New Zealand stated on Wednesday that children and other dependent persons in state or religious care between the years 1950 and 2019 are victims of abuse in what the commission described as a “national shame.”
“If this injustice is not addressed, it will remain a blot on our collective conscience for ever,”
the royal commission said in a final report of June 2004 after six years of probe.
Sexual abuse “ran rife,” staff identified victims and preyed on them; in some instances, transferring girls from the establishment to the street and other members of the public, the report added.
The study also noted that physical abuse was present in every institution; some workers were extremely aggressive in their actions and used any means at their disposal, including weapons and electric shocks, to cause pain.
Physical abuse with the use of force and verbal abuse began during the first day in care and was recurrent until respondents left care, the report has shown.
Many Māori and Pacific Islander people reported exclusion based on their ethnicity; they were also forbidden to participate in cultural activities and observe traditions, the report stated.
In its report, the commission said: “New Zealanders revered these leaders who had a social responsibility of caring, cherishing, preserving, and enhancing people’s wellbeing to the standards of AVEN; they let them down.”.
