A damning independent inquiry into sexual and physical abuse at Auckland’s Dilworth School has uncovered a “catalogue of damage and injustice” spanning more than half a century, from 1950 to 2005. Led by Dame Sylvia Cartwright and Frances Joychild KC, the inquiry found serious failures by the school’s senior leadership and governance. Cartwright and Joychild released their report…
“Confronting”. That’s how Tim Whaitiri Henderson, of Dove Hawke’s Bay, describes the “Hopeful Horizons” exhibition that will be showcased as part of the 2023 Fotofest in Hawke’s Bay. He recalls people breaking down in tears when they first saw the faces that lined gallery walls in Taranaki, and now he hopes the exhibit will help spread awareness…
The Jehovah’s Witness church has been fighting scrutiny from a national inquiry into the historical abuse of children for three years, court documents show. The church has accused the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care of wilfully “miscasting” its religion and ignoring evidence showing why it should be excluded from the inquiry. In…
After surviving 10 years of hell, Anna* held on to hope her perpetrators would finally atone for the sins of the past. Tim Scott investigates how the Presbyterian Church’s redress retraumatised Anna, convincing her it is washing its hands of accountability. Anna* never had a childhood. What was meant to be filled with innocence and joy was…
At Marylands School, sexual and physical abuse by Catholic brothers was brutal, prevalent and normalised. Survivors were so traumatised that, after they left, they found it difficult to understand the boundaries between right and wrong. At the frayed edge of Christchurch, the city dissolving into large fields and fast roads, there’s a cluster of buildings…
A group of state care abuse survivors are taking the Attorney-General David Parker to court over a repayment scheme that they argue doesn’t acknowledge the serious sexual, physical and psychological abuse that they were subjected to. The dispute looks at the Ministry of Social Development’s Rapid Payment Framework, which offers quick payouts based on how long a person…
Abuse allegations were levelled at nearly one in five Dunedin Catholic priests since 1950, the church has revealed. New research has been published by Te Ropu Tautoko, the group that co-ordinates Catholic Church engagement with the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care. It revealed 26 priests, 18% of the 131 who served in the Dunedin…
ANALYSIS: A Royal Commission report into the sexual abuse horrors at the Marylands school in Christchurch took the headlines last week. But, writes National Correspondent Steve Kilgallon, it was an expensive exercise which may have no real impact other than expose the flaws of the commission. The horror of what happened at the Marylands children’s home…
The former principal of an Auckland-based private school has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for the sexual abuse of a young student who he called a liar at trial but – in an unusual reversal – later admitted to having victimised. Joseph Jacob Moncarz, known as “Joey” to students at the Deep Green Bush…
There’s been this fascinating (in an awful kind of way) story going on in New Zealand, where the 85-year-old multi-millionaire businessman called Sir James Wallace has been sent off to prison for sexually abusing three young men. What makes this whole story so strange — and something that’s been written about at length — is how it all kinda…
There are calls for Oranga Tamariki residences to be shut down following serious allegations about “inappropriate sexual behaviour” towards children in its care. Earlier today, it was announced that two Oranga Tamariki staff members had been removed from two unnamed residences. Chief executive Chappie Te Kani has, over the past week, been informed of two allegations involving…
Survivors of sexual abuse by members of the Roman Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania tell their stories in this video created by the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. The AG’s office recently released the results of a grand jury report investigating the sexual abuse of children by members of the Catholic clergy.