New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed regret on Wednesday after a public enquiry found that approximately 200,000 children, young people, and vulnerable adults were subjected to abuse in state and religious care over the past 70 years. The report revealed that nearly one in three individuals in care from 1950 to 2019 experienced some form of abuse, highlighting a distressing reality that demands attention and action.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry, which engaged with over 2,300 survivors of abuse in New Zealand, uncovered a disturbing pattern of mistreatment in state and faith-based care settings. Shocking abuses such as rape, sterilization, and electric shocks were reported, with a significant increase in incidents during the 1970s.
The report emphasized the heightened vulnerability of individuals from the Indigenous Maori community and those with mental or physical disabilities to abuse. It also exposed efforts by civil and faith leaders to conceal abuse by relocating perpetrators and evading accountability, leaving many victims without justice.
The inquiry's 138 recommendations include calls for public apologies from the New Zealand government, the Pope, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Additionally, the establishment of a Care Safe Agency to oversee the industry and the implementation of new legislation mandating the reporting of suspected abuse, even if disclosed during religious confession, were proposed.
Addressing the financial implications, the report estimated the average lifetime cost to an abuse survivor to be around NZ$857,000 per person. Luxon acknowledged that the total compensation owed to survivors could amount to billions of dollars, signaling a significant financial and moral responsibility on the part of the government.
Furthermore, the inquiry suggested providing support to families affected by intergenerational trauma resulting from the abuse suffered by survivors. It also recommended a review of compensation awarded in previous child abuse cases, including those at the state-run adolescent unit, to ensure fair and just redress.
In response to the report, a sociologist at the University of Auckland emphasized the importance of recognizing and acknowledging the survivors for their lived experiences and the truth of their stories. The revelations have sparked a national reckoning with New Zealand's history of abuse in care institutions, prompting calls for accountability, justice, and systemic reforms to prevent such atrocities from recurring.
