Abuse in Care inquiry final report made public, commissioners call for reform and redress

At least 200,000 people have been abused, and even more neglected, by the state and faith-based institutions since 1950.

The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry's 3000-page final report has been made public on Wednesday afternoon, laying bare the scale of failure of the state and churches to protect New Zealand's most vulnerable.

The report found abuse was rife in state and faith-based care settings and the state failed to respond to signs of systemic abuse and neglect.

Sexual abuse was commonplace and abusers groomed children, young people and adults in care.

Those in care were often treated without compassion and some were wilfully neglected.

Māori were more likely to be taken into care - dislocated from their culture - and then faced harsher treatment because of their ethnicity and skin colour.

Read more:

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• Royal Commission accepts torture was used at notorious Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital
• Survivors of abuse under St John of God call for accountability

Commissioners Judge Coral Shaw, Dr Andrew Erueti and Paul Gibson called for widespread law reform, an overhaul of Aotearoa's care system, and urgent implementation of its recommended redress scheme.

"Instead of receiving care and support, children, young people and adults in care were exposed to unimaginable physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse, severe exploitation and neglect. Abuse and neglect were widespread ... in state and faith-based care institutions," the commissioners said.

"Any abuse and neglect, let alone the prevalence of it, could not be justified by the standards of the day and certainly cannot be justified now.

"Critical rights, such as those guaranteed to Māori in te Tiriti o Waitangi and human rights, that should have protected people in care, were ignored and overlooked altogether."

The commissioners made 138 recommendations to right the wrongs of the past; ensure the safety of every child, young person and adult in care today; and to empower and invest in whānau and communities.

They included the establishment of a specialist investigation unit, an independent Care Safe Agency to oversee the care system and a Care System Office, which would later become the Ministry for the Care System, to lead the implementation of the royal commission's recommendations.

The commissioners also called for the government to "prioritise and accelerate current work to close care and protection residences, which perpetuate the institutional environments and practices".

"Of the estimated 655,000 children, young people and adults in care from 1950 to 2019, it is estimated that 200,000 were abused and even more were neglected," the report said.

"The true number will never be fully known as records of the most vulnerable people in Aotearoa New Zealand were never created or were lost and, in some cases, destroyed.

"It is a national disgrace that hundreds of thousands of children, young people and adults were abused and neglected in the care of the State and faith-based institutions.

"These gross violations occurred at the same time as Aotearoa New Zealand was promoting itself, internationally and domestically, as a bastion of human rights and as a safe, fair country in which to grow up as a child in a loving family. If this injustice is not addressed, it will remain as a stain on our national character forever."

The report called for public apologies and accountability from the prime minister, faith leaders, public sector leaders, leaders of relevant professional bodies, leaders of care providers and leaders of faith-based institutions.

Read more:

• Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital makes apology to survivors of abuse
• Catholic Church formally apologises to survivors of abuse

"An apology is hollow without change. With urgency, state and faith-based institutions must implement the inquiry's 2021 recommended puretumu torowhānui system and scheme. There must be no further delay."

Commissioners call out lack of progress on redress

The commissioners were critical of the work to date on its redress recommendations from the interim report He Purapura Ora, he Māra Tipu - which were presented to the previous Labour Government in December 2021.

"Since then, there has been very little clear progress by the government in implementing the inquiry's recommendations," the commissioners said.

"Timeframes in He Purapura Ora, he Māra Tipu have not been met, and the government has not met the timeframes it set itself. The steps the government has taken to date are inconsistent in important respects with the recommendations of the inquiry.

"Many survivors in Aotearoa New Zealand continue to have no effective remedy, and the puretumu torowhānui system which the inquiry recommended has not been implemented."

The commissioners described survivors facing a second or third-class system in Aotearoa New Zealand compared with Australia.

"Unless significant change occurs, this will continue to be the case.

"Meaningful reform which provides fair, holistic and comprehensive redress will inevitably be expensive for the government and faith-based institutions.

"The alternative is for many survivors and their whānau, and society at large, to continue bearing these costs, despite the abuse having taken place in state and faith-based care and the survivors not being at fault."

Survivors could also pursue a civil litigation process or other means for compensation or settlements, "which are far beyond anything currently available in Aotearoa New Zealand including through the accident compensation scheme", the commissioners said.

"The question is not whether these things can be done, but whether New Zealanders want to ensure survivors of abuse and neglect receive holistic redress that recompenses them for what happened, and the lost economic opportunities and loss of life enjoyment, and in particular whether government wants to do them.

"Survivors have been told that they matter, they are respected for their courage, and they have been heard. Some apologies have been given, and a national apology is being planned.

"The inquiry considers much more needs to be done, mostly led by the government. And government needs to act promptly so that survivors do not continue to die without receiving effective, holistic redress."

The commissioners called for urgent action to address the "systemic and deeply embedded" harm caused at all levels of care.

"The findings call for a complete overhaul of Aotearoa New Zealand's state and faith-based care systems in social welfare, disability, mental health, education, and transitional and law enforcement and pastoral care settings.

"The recommendations comprise mutually reinforcing strands woven together into a kākahu (cloak) to right the wrongs of the past and protect against abuse and neglect in care in the future.

"These recommendations cannot be selectively implemented - missing out any of the strands will create gaps and points of weakness in the kākahu which mean the cycles of abuse and neglect in care will continue.

"Abuse and neglect in care does not just harm individuals - it imposes a significant burden on whānau, kainga and society. The long-term impacts include poor health outcomes, welfare dependency, and increased crime rates."