Common themes have included significant sexual, verbal, and physical violence, over-medicalisation, isolation, and unsanitary conditions.
It’s believed more than 250,000 people have been abused in state and faith-based care in New Zealand.
Finally, the inquiry’s final report will be released publicly today after it’s presented in Parliament.
Senior investigative reporter Michael Morrah told The Front Page he has spoken to countless survivors over the years.
“One of the guys who always stood out to me is a chap called Paul Zentveld. He was tortured at the old Lake Alice hospital. He was given electric shock treatment for doing things like wetting the bed as a 14-year-old.
“But, despite so many setbacks, Paul has never given up in his quest for justice and accountability. He supports other survivors and he’s just a real Kiwi battler.”
Along with the harrowing stories of abuse came a torrent of apologies, something Morrah thinks falls on deaf ears.
“I clearly remember Cardinal John Dew stepping up and apologising and acknowledging that Catholic Church systems and its culture allowed children to be abused and that was a hugely significant day.
“But, some of these survivors have been raising these concerns for decades and have not felt listened to. So the apologies, I think, ring hollow.”
An independent redress scheme is expected as part of the Crown’s response. An interim report on redress made 95 recommendations calling for urgent action.
The report said many survivors attempting to obtain redress were rejected “time and time again” with their experiences often “downplayed, disbelieved or dismissed”.
Morrah said several people he has spoken to who have entered the redress process say it is incredibly drawn out.
“I spoke with a leading lawyer in this area, Sonja Cooper, who has thousands of clients from state abuse and she said the average time it takes to have some form of compensation or payout is about six years,” he said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is expected to deliver a formal apology to those who experienced abuse in state and faith-based care on November 12 at Parliament.
Luxon said what he had read of the report so far was “horrific and harrowing”. The report was 3000 pages long and weighed 14kg.
“This is a shameful part of our history,” he said.
Morrah said survivors would hope some kind of action is taken well before November.
“This is an incredibly dark chapter in New Zealand where survivors were silenced. Some claimed cover-ups of complaints.
“This has impacted the most marginalised groups in society. We had church leaders who befriended families to get access to and sexually abuse children. It’s about time we faced up to that.
“It’s about time the church authorities face up to this, and the Government and we see some sort of tangible action because that’s the concern from survivors: it’s time for accountability and action.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about the inquiry and the journey to the release of its final report.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
