Photo: RNZ
A survivor of abuse in a faith-based institution wants a Pacific specific redress pathway.
The final Royal Commission of Inquiry's report found at least 200,000 people have been abused by state and faith-based institutions since 1950.
Pacific people were overrepresented along with Māori, deaf, disabled, and mentally distressed people.
Co-chair of the survivor experiences board, Frances Tagaloa, said she was impressed by the cross-party support for the final report and is now keen for action.
"Really the first steps and the most important for now I think is the independent redress system, the commission recommended an independent redress system be set up years ago and the government has been slow to act on that one," she said.
Tagaloa suffered sexual and emotional abuse when she was between five to seven years old at the hands of a representative of the Catholic Church.
The abuser was Marist Brother Bede Fitton, also known as Francis Fitton, who taught at Marist Brothers Intermediate school in Ponsonby. He has since died.
Tagaloa said it is important the redress system is independent.
"It just amazes me, but a survivor has to go back to the very institution where they've been abused to get any redress or support. "
The report found Pacific children, young people and adults in care experienced racial abuse and cultural neglect.
Many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation.
Pacific and Māori survivors also endured higher levels of physical abuse than other ethnicities.
Tagaloa wants there to be a specific redress pathway for Pacific peoples.
"There are just uniqueness's with dealing with Pasifika culture there are sometimes language barriers but also cultural barriers that we have to navigate, so there has to be a specific Pasifika pathway."
Commissioner Dr Anaru Erueti said Māori and Pasifika needed to be trusted by the state to care and protect their own.
"We heard a clear message from these communities about how for such a long time they have been not trusted essentially to care for their own and how they wanted to have the proper support from the state to be able to meet the needs of their communities."
Commissioner Paul Gibson said abuse was horrific, widespread and happened in all institutions.
He said it was more than just actions from individuals but systemic.
"It still goes on today, we have to make it stop."
Tagaloa hopes the public will engage with the report.
"This report shows that if a child is taken away from their family, then they're most likely to end up in gangs and then end up in prison.
"We don't want that to happen to our tamariki, or our mokopuna, or our vulnerable, we don't want that.
"As a community, we don't want to be creating pathways that help our children go to prison."
There were 138 recommendations made in the inquiry.
Tagaloa said the public needed to support the actioning of the recommendations.
