News & Events

Teacher Edwin John Downing is on trial at the High Court in Auckland. He has denied 13 charges, including sexual violation, sexual conduct with a young person and sexually grooming a young person. The police interview of one of the two complainants was recorded on DVD and on Monday was played to the court. The…

Research reviewed as part of a rapid evidence assessment shows that being a victim and survivor of CSA is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in all areas of victims and survivors’ lives. Additionally, long-term longitudinal research suggests that – in many cases – these adverse outcomes are not just experienced over the…

A new hub for Nelson’s homeless is expected to be up and running in a few months. The Male Room director, Philip Chapman, said the daytime shelter, called Whare Haumanu, was a “fantastic effort” from many people and organisations. Published on Stuff Whare Haumanu will be a 35 square metre building with a shower, toilet,…

Sam Thinks details their journey to self-love following sexual abuse during childhood. They share what they have learnt during the last ten years of therapy, which first involved dismantling their self-loathing inner voice, dubbed the ‘beast’. Published on PsychCentral Sam had initially rejected and even felt anger towards the notion of self-love as written about…

Australian Federal Police (AFP) have charged 44 men and removed 16 children from harm after investigators dismantled a national paedophile ring. Published on Stuff The alleged perpetrators – some of who stand accused of producing their own child abuse material – are now facing a combined 350 charges after a law enforcement referral sparked a…

The cost to the Crown of fighting claims by victims of abuse in state care is finally revealed before a Royal Commission. Aaron Smale calculates where most of the money went. Published on Newsroom Aaron Smale had been told by the Ministry of Social Development and Crown Law back in 2017 that it was too…

It is well established that children were physically and sexually abused in state care in New Zealand over many decades. But what has always been carefully hidden is the subsequent role of the Crown in deliberately, actively suppressing and stifling the bids for justice by survivors of those crimes. Published on Newsroom Aaron Smale reveals…

Allegations of sexual assault and grooming have been raised by former students against famed Kiwi composer, the late Jack Body. Published on Stuff Senior leaders at Victoria University of Wellington are reviewing the historical allegations that have been brought to light this month, after alumni of the university’s New Zealand School of Music were asked…

Senior Italian Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu is suspected of paying A$1.14 million from Vatican funds to witnesses, to ensure the takedown of his bitter rival, Cardinal George Pell. Published on NZ Herald The allegedly corrupt cardinal wanted to ensure that Melbourne Supreme Court witnesses gave a hostile testimony in order to put Cardinal Pell behind…

Hundreds of sexual abuse victims who received meagre sums of money from the Catholic Church in exchange for their silence could now seek larger compensation payouts after a judge overturned one survivor’s settlement with the church. Published on The Age Australia That survivor, a former altar boy known as WCB, was paid $32,500 in 1996…