‘You can’t walk away from this’
Survivors’ testimonies must not be ignored
The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry Disability, Deaf and Mental Health gave a platform for survivors to share details of the inhumane abuse they suffered at the hands of the state. Over eight days the court heard how state employees went unchecked as they physically, mentally and sexually abused our most vulnerable. The last witness took the stand on Wednesday and reporter Olivia Shivas asks what happens now?
Sitting in the stand, the tears flow freely down Sunny Webster’s face. In front of a room full of strangers she lays bare the most horrific details of her life, transporting them all into a hell she has carried alone since she was 8 years old.
Webster is a survivor. She is one of many who have lifted the lid on the horrors most have carried in silence for more than half a century. They were made to believe no one would listen. Made to feel no one cared.
But these past two weeks have seen many take the stand, some verbalised their experiences, some used their hands to share their truth, and others had their evidence read out. The abuse they endured in silence was out for all to hear, with a shared hope between those in the stand and those in the gallery, that no one would have to endure this ever again.
Stories of institution staff facilitating the rape of disabled children for money, disabled people hosed down naked for ‘entertainment’, people in mental distress turning into ‘chemical blobs’ after excessive medication and Deaf people being denied their culture and identity finally came into the light over the eight-day public hearing.
‘‘New Zealand must look to the past to inform the future,’’ said kaupapa Ma¯ ori panel facilitator Ronelle Baker – a sentiment repeated throughout the hearing. And for children who may one day find themselves inside the system, it is imperative that the work, of which there is plenty, be done.
In June 2023, the royal commission will release a final report based on all the evidence its collected over many Abuse in Care inquiries and make recommendations to the Government.
And despite grand gestures from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who said in 2018 that the $100 million inquiry was a chance to confront our history to ensure these ‘‘mistakes’’ won’t happen again, her government is under no obligation to take on the recommendations. Earlier this year, Ardern wouldn’t say whether her government would enact a royal commission recommendation that children in state care should be legally protected from abuse.
And a proposed Oranga Tamariki Oversight Bill to replace the Children’s Commissioner with a board is likely to become a reality under this Government, despite child advocates and an abuse in care survivor’s plea for it to be halted at least until the royal commission makes its recommendations.
A spokesperson for the office of the prime minister wouldn’t confirm if Ardern had watched any of the royal commission’s disability, Deaf, and mental health institutional care hearing, but said she did get regular updates and had been reading the news reports.
‘‘This is an important and complex inquiry, the largest of its kind, and the Government’s role is to facilitate the inquiry and receive the final report in 2023, at which point next steps will be considered,’’ the spokesperson said. ‘‘The prime minister is mindful that survivors have waited a long time to be heard, and for a report of this nature to be published.’’
New Minister for Disability Issues Poto Williams neither attended nor watched the hearing because she was on leave. Williams said officials at the newly established Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People were watching and listening closely to the public hearing and acknowledged the bravery of witnesses.
‘‘It’s important we learn from the past and are committed to ensuring support for disabled people is free from abuse and neglect,’’ Williams said.
During the inquiry, survivor after survivor revealed that the abuse and neglect towards the disabled came from people who were meant to care for them.
Williams wouldn’t comment directly on what work is being done by Government to equip workers to better care for disabled people.
It’s ‘‘important to let the hearing take its course and digest and learn’’ from the royal commission’s final report, she said.
Witnesses who spoke at the hearing said there was a culture of fear about making complaints as there could be repercussions on those in care, and others also described the inaccessible processes of making complaints.
Addressing this, Justice Minister Kiri Allan said access to justice for all New Zealanders is a priority.
She said there were measures in place to ensure the justice system was accessible, including communication assistance services for defendants, New
Zealand Sign Language interpreters, accessibility to courts and the use of remote technologies.
‘‘The Government has made a commitment to improving justice services so that they are accessible and able to be understood by disabled people under the Disability Action Plan,’’ she said.
Informing the future
When it comes to writing up the final report, the royal commission will focus on individual, relational community and societal factors, such as the law and policies, that allowed abuse and neglect to occur on that scale, Counsel Assist Ruth Thomas said.
The royal commission will recommend the Government respond to systemic issues on a societal level because it was much bigger than one or two individual accounts, she said.
In terms of trusting survivor’s accounts, Thomas said asking if survivor’s stories were true and accurate was ‘‘one of the contributing factors that cause abuse . . . because they haven’t been believed’’.
‘‘Every survivor who has come to us and shared their evidence publicly, has spoken their truth,’’ she said. ‘‘And any person who has been present in this room over the last eight days could 100% vouch for the fact that the evidence we’ve heard has been heartfelt . . . I don’t think there’d be anyone who hasn’t been touched by that in the room, with goosebumps in the room and tears in their eyes.’’
She said the consistency of the stories presented proved the survivors’ testimonies were accurate.
‘‘The accumulated weight of all those stories intertwines and supports each other, so the only conclusion we can draw is, it’s wider than one person’s individual account talking about that individual situation,’’ she said.
Through the process of giving evidence to the royal commission, survivors could also pass on details of perpetrators and make a referral to the police. The royal commission doesn’t have the mandate to hold someone criminally liable.
However, the issues raised in the inquiry were wider than individual perpetrators.
‘‘This also sits on all of our shoulders as a nation, that we owe it to everyone to do better and hold ourselves, as people and the state to account for this systemic problem that needs to addressed,’’ she said.
Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero said the stories coming out of the royal commission’s disability hearing were horrifying.
‘‘Having heard and experienced the disability community’s distress at the reports from the hearing, I can only imagine how painful it has been for survivors and wha¯ nau to share these experiences,’’ she said.
Tesoriero believes it is important that disabled people hear these stories and collectively work together to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
‘‘Although it is very distressing to hear of the historical abuse through the royal commission of inquiry, it is really important to understand that disabled people still experience abuse in a range of settings in New Zealand and we need to address that.’’
She said the negative attitudes people have about disability need to be addressed, as well as the frequent power imbalances between disabled people and those who control the resources they need. There needs to be more accountability to address ableism and ensure disabled people were supported to make their own decisions.
Tesoriero believes there needs to be specific services and future funding to support disabled people experiencing violence and abuse, including a twin-track approach – making mainstream services accessible to disabled people as well as creating a bespoke service for disabled people to report abuse.
‘‘If we are shocked by past events, yet fail to address our current situation, we will continue to fail as a nation,’’ she said.
At the hearing, disability researcher Dr Brigit Mirfin-Veitch said while the launch of Whaikaha is one major systemic change that has the potential to improve and address New Zealand’s horrific record of systemic abuse of this scale, it alone won’t fix the systemic problems.
She said real change won’t happen unless New Zealand commits to legislative and policy change of Article 12 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRDP). Article 12 states that disabled people have the right to recognition before the law and to be granted legal capacity on an equal basis as others in all aspects of life. ‘‘We should be using the powerful tool that we have signed up to,’’ Mirfin-Veitch
said.
If it were implemented, the violence and abuse that happened would not continue unchecked, she said.
Even though the Government restricted the royal commission of inquiry’s terms of reference to the years between 1950 and 1999, the abuse against disabled people did not stop in 1999, Mirfin-Veitch said.
‘‘We must continue to be vigilant, be activists and keep listening to disabled people,’’ she said.
Alison Adams, who shared evidence on behalf of her two disabled sons, said the Government and care providers need to prioritise disabled people’s needs first, instead of looking for shortcuts and cost savings.
The inquiry’s Kaupapa Ma¯ ori panellist Gary Williams said survivors must ‘‘be at the table’’ when it comes to decisions around systems that impact disabled people the most.
Panellist Karen Pointon added the abuse is still there for Ma¯ ori Deaf students.
‘‘They need to be better included in school without feeling that cultural oppression,’’ she told the royal commission through sign language.
She said a review of the school curriculum was needed with a commitment from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Development and the legal system to ensure access to Crown funding and resources.
Counsel assist Thomas’ message to the Government was that the prime minister, and others in Government, should watch the evidence of the survivors.
‘‘Then she wouldn’t be able to not be touched in a way that we’ve been touched by the accounts that we’ve heard, because when you feel that on a personal and emotional level, you can’t walk away from this,’’ she said.
‘‘People have walked away from addressing this for too long, and we cannot let our politicians do that on this occasion.’’
Back in the stand, Webster quietly sighs in relief, she has finished describing the hell carers put her through. The secret she was made to carry alone since she was 8 years old is out. Now the onus sits on the shoulders of those in power to make sure this never happens again.