News & Events

The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness…

Almost a third of people in state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 2019 were abused, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has found, describing it as a “disgrace” and a “stain” on the national character. The commission’s report released to the public today said that would remain so if the “gross…

Faith-based care institutions had higher rates of sexual abuse than state care, the landmark Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has found. The inquiry found that Catholic institutions reported the highest levels of sexual abuse, alongside Dilworth School in Auckland and Marylands School in Christchurch. Additionally, it highlighted how the moral authority of…

E hara taku toa I te takitahi. Te toa takitini My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective When we gave our opening at the Faith-based Phase 1 Hearing of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission on November the 30th, 2020, we used another Māori aphorism to talk about the critical importance…

The Royal Commission on Abuse in Care next week delivers its much-delayed final report. But an earlier report, filed in December 2021, said abuse survivors needed an independent payment scheme urgently. So why hasn’t it happened? Mike Ledingham turned 74 last week, and survived an aneurysm last year. He hopes to live long enough to…

A Christchurch park and road have been renamed to remove the reminder of the dark past of Marylands School. From Thursday, the former Marylands Reserve and Marylands Place will be known as Validation Park and Validation Place, in honour of the survivors of abuse at the school which used to sit on the site. The residential facility for boys –…

Peer support services are rapidly gaining mainstream acceptance thanks to recent federal initiatives, new reimbursement opportunities and the fallout from the opioid crisis. Peers have a unique ability to drive sustained patient engagement, industry insiders said at Behavioral Health Business’ VALUE conference. This makes the peer support model cost-effective for providers looking to shift away…

For the men who survived “evil” sexual and physical abuse in a Catholic boys’ home in Christchurch, last week was the first time authority figures gave them a reason to smile. The reserve and street named after Marylands School is being renamed Validation, in recognition of the decades it took for abuse survivors to be believed. The school was…

Auckland’s Dilworth boarding school was set up to to provide education to boys from disadvantaged backgrounds for free. Last year an independent inquiry into sexual and physical abuse at the school uncovered a “catalogue of damage and injustice” spanning more than half a century. Broadcaster turned screenwriter Mark Staufer was one of the boys physically…