Call to MPs to support A Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse

Dear Sir or Madam 

For the past 6 weeks, I have been collecting signatures throughout Hawkes Bay in support of Grant Wests’ Petition for a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.  I collected almost 500 signatures and I would have acquired more however issues with council permission, businesses refusing to let me collect in their carpark due to the subject nature of the petition and the drinking water crisis, hindered my ability to gain further support.  As I have been let down by the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service (CLAS) Process, I felt driven to support Grant.  I didn’t give up and travelled to Wellington on Thursday 15th September for the hand over of the petition on Parliament grounds and I was heartened by the support of MPs.

 Here is some background as to why i feel we need this.

The CLAS process included sharing my experiences but it was cut short as the Panel were running late to catch their plane.  This perpetuates the feeling of victimisation and not being heard fully in a forum set up for this purpose.  I will briefly share my story in hopes that you will further understand why I struggle and what motivates me to continue to voice this issue.

I was 10 years old when I was sexually abused by my teacher.  My dad was a drunk and my mother dismissed what I was trying to tell her, so by the time I was 15 years old I had gone a little off the rails.  Due to my father’s alcoholism, he would beat me and one day I threatened to kill him if he hit me again.  Eventually I ended up being placed into State Care at Lake Alice.  I tried to run away and when I was caught they put me in a cell.  While in the cell, I put my bed on its end and used my sheets to make a noose.  I tied them around the sprinkler pipe and I was hanging for quite a while as the noose would not slip tight enough. I was cut down, stripped naked, all the bedding was removed and I was then given Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT or shock therapy) to parts of my body and my head, all the while screaming in pain.  When i came too i was cold and naked, laying on a mattress on the ground with no blankets and just a bucket for a toilet.  I was given many more ECT treatments and subsequently I was sexually abuse by a staff member.  As a result i escaped from the institution, seemingly like an escaped criminal for many years.  I feared the police because I believed I would be sent back to Lake Alice. I was severely traumatised by this experience resulting in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and an acute loss of short term memory, which is a side effect of the ECT Treatment forced upon me.

I had a complete melt down again at 35 and with my 4th suicide attempt i was taken to Auckland Hospital.   It was decided that the very treatment that contributed to my PTSD, being the ECT I was given at Lake Alice 20 years earlier, was the best option to treat my condition.  There I was forced to endure more ECT and suffered additional memory problems which still persist today and is not covered by ACC’s medical misadventure.  Due to the ECT treatment and impairment to my short term memory, I was labelled an ‘airhead’ and often abused when I was working.  This affected my ability to explain what I was experiencing and maintain ongoing employment.

The downside to the CLAS process was they could not order police to investigate and or prosecute my abusers.  It could not compensate me for the abuse suffered at the hands of my school teacher and nor could the fast track system address this. CLAS was only able to offer me 8 hours of Counselling.  

Many people (that i have spoken too) who have received the fast track payout, were advised to take the payments offered otherwise it would be years before their case was heard in court or through the Historical Unit dealing with their claims.  More often, the payments received would not even cover their counselling  costs as many like me sort out private counselling as already abused by public system, so in that respect, they received no real compensation for their injuries.

Currently there is no judicial remedy in place to charge those State Employees with the crimes they committed against myself and others in the same situation.  Even though Lake Alice is deemed a separate issue, the police team who investigated Dr Selwyn Leeks were not able to successfully gain a conviction due to missing information.  While the police have apologised for their error, they will not take any action against Dr Selwyn Leeks, who is still alive today.

As far as I have determined, the fast track system does not assess or address any sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my teacher, or abuse by Church Ministers, Police or other State Employees.  The standard of address is very poor and barely covers children who were sexually abused while in State run Children’s Homes and CYPS care.

Whilst the fast track system offered victims an apology, it is an empty and meaningless gesture without any police action to back it up.  The compensation given would not adequately cover the level of suffering I have experienced for over 40 years of my life.  In my situation, I have had to fight so hard to get my life on track.  It might seem cliche to use this term but I fought ‘tooth and nail’ every single day to endure the stress precipitated by the memory confusion. Eventually my health was impeded by the two heart attacks that followed.

i can no longer work and I suffer ongoing nightmares and flashbacks.  During these times my wife has to sleep with the children as my screaming and thrashing about has hurt her.  I can not give my kids a normal life or take them away on a holiday as I have to live on the Supported Living Payment previously known as Invalids Benefit  because of the significant injury to my brain and health.

I have never been able to access real rehab and it rolls on to affect many more people in my life than just myself.  I am left wondering why my family and friends have to suffer the consequences because the current government refuses to address the cause of the problem.  Whilst I did not benefit from the fast track system, the whole process had the appearance of helping victims of child abuse while in State Care, when in fact it does not.  The many stories you will hear and have heard to date will support this statement.  By giving victims a few dollars and a “I’m sorry for what happened to you all those years ago”, does not fix their suffering or enable them to live a normal happy life.  All it does is give a temporary reprieve from the financial burden of being unable to work but the consequences of the past abuse remain the same and the fall out from it continues on.

In order to deal with this in an open and transparent manner I am asking for your support in the request for a Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.  There are still hundreds of victims refusing to accept the fast track plan and they will eventually have their day in court.  As a victim, I would appreciate your support to back our call to have this open and honest independent investigation.

Thank you.

graphs from child abuse nz site