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Coming In From The Cold

26 New Zealand male survivors share their personal stories of sexual abuse

In a new publication that records the last 10 years in the development of Tautoko Tāne Aotearoa, you will read the stories of 26 Tautoko Tāne staff and clients who have generously shared their survivor experiences to raise awareness of the impacts of sexual violence and to support the important work of the only national network in New Zealand that is dedicated to enabling the wellbeing of male survivors.

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Crown responder disbelieved abuse allegations

Iona Holsted was singled out for criticism in the Royal Commission’s report on redress for being among officials who suggested lawyers were drumming up false or exaggerated claims

The Government appointed career bureaucrat Iona Holsted to lead a unit responding to victims of state abuse, despite a Royal Commission documenting her previous allegations that a lawyer representing victims was behaving unethically and persuading her clients to embellish their claims of abuse.

Holsted, who is currently Secretary of the Ministry of Education, was appointed to lead the Crown Response Unit (CRU), a state entity set up to respond to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. It is also responsible for setting up a redress scheme to respond to those who were victims of abuse while they were children in the state’s custody. It was set up in 2018.

Holsted’s appointment is mentioned in a briefing to the incoming Minister of Public Service Andrew Little, who holds responsibility for the CRU. The previous minister was Chris Hipkins, but the portfolio was taken over by Little in February, shortly after Hipkins became Prime Minister.

The briefing explains that the governance of the CRU is provided by a number of chief executives from Oranga Tamariki, the Ministries of Education, Health, Social Development, the Ministry for Disabled People and Crown Law. These chief executives “collectively agreed that the lead chief executive for the Crown Response would be Iona Holsted, Secretary for Education”.

However, Holsted is singled out for criticism in the commission’s report on redress. It mentions that “some officials suggested lawyers were drumming up false or exaggerated claims”.

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