‘Lack of care’ in ministry decision
Over the weekend, it was reported that the Ministry of Education has ruled out any further investigations into a Marlborough college after a woman teacher there sexually abused two under-aged boys. The rationale was simple: police had investigated and the case was being dealt with. Nothing more to see here.
Except there is so much more. Cases such as this frequently involve multiple victims – with the teacher here alleged to have targeted many other students – and they frequently emerge from an institutional backdrop that has effectively enabled such behaviour.
This is often through poor processes and a lack of safeguards. Sometimes it can be through warning signs being missed. It can even be through leadership being unable or unwilling to respond accordingly, whether through incompetence or sheer moral cowardice. Too often we see organisational reputation prioritised over victims’ wellbeing.
We don’t know if any of the above are applicable at the college involved. And the ministry’s decision means we won’t. It’s a poor decision.
We do not need an inquest to cast blame. But we do need to know how and why these things happened so we can learn and use them for prevention in the future. Parents need to know for their own sense of care and psychological safety. Most importantly, students need to know for their own protection.
Sadly, the Ministry of Education’s response is depressingly familiar in terms of safeguarding members of the public against sexual abuse from those in the public sector. There is literally no information on how prevalent this is, nor what can be done about it. It’s time to
bring some light and truth onto the situation.
On Monday, a petition was received into Parliament seeking to discover how the State Services Commission addresses sexual harm to members of the public caused by public servants. The petition was crafted by Carrie Buckmaster, a board member of MOSAIC, which works with male survivors of sexual abuse and trauma. Survivors like the boys involved in Marlborough.
The petition also asks Parliament to consider responses: whether or not there should be a national body to drive evidence-based improvements and responses. At the very least it asks for greater transparency and honesty. The transparency that is sadly blocked by the Ministry of Education’s decision not to investigate further. We need to have a more caring approach to survivors and those who support them. In fact, care is the one thing parents in the Marlborough case are crying out for, with one quoted as saying the abused children ‘‘were there under the school’s care. Just because they could give consent doesn’t mean it was OK. The ministry should care about this, the school has a duty of care’’.
It’s not too late to do right by the children and the parents affected by this case. Hopefully the decision not to investigate will be reconsidered and hopefully in the future we can all have a more transparent and truthful discussion about such abuses.
Michael Macaulay is Professor of Public Administration at Victoria University of Wellington, where he specialises in integrity, ethics and anti-corruption.