Nearly quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were physically and sexually abused in New Zealand’s faith-based and state care institutions during the period from the 1960s to early 2000s, a public inquiry revealed on Wednesday. An interim report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry found children, some children from as young as nine months old, right from infant stage, suffered years of abuse, which included rape and electric shock treatment, by staff at psychiatric and state care facilities, clergy and foster guardians.
The report has a rough estimate that up to 256,000 people were abused, accounting for almost 40% of the 655,000 people in care during the period, with peak abuse period in the 1970s and 1980s. Minister for the Public Service Chris Hipkins, “The hurt and anguish that has been caused in New Zealand’s history is inexcusable,” who described the report as a “difficult read”. “All children in the care of the state should be safe from harm, but as the testimony sets out all too often the opposite was true", he added. The report said most abuse survivors were aged between 5 and 17. Most were abused over a five to 10 year period. The report says the abuse included physical assault and sexual abuse, with staff in some psychiatric institutions forcing male patients to rape female patients. It also included the improper use of medical procedures including electric shocks on genitals and legs, improper strip searches and vaginal examinations, and verbal abuse and racial slurs.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the Royal Commission in 2018 that the country needed to confront “a dark chapter” in its history, and later expanded it to include churches and other faith-based institutions. The report said the likelihood of children and young people abused in faith-based or religious homes ranges from 21% to 42%. Neighbouring country Australia delivered a national apology in 2017, after a five-year inquiry into child sexual abuse revealed thousands of cases of sexual misconduct largely committed at religious and state-run institutions. Hipkins said the New Zealand government would make a decision on an apology once the Commission hands over its final report.
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