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Ziporah Huirama died after a decade in state, mental health care - claim to Waitangi Tribunal

Natalie Akoorie
By
Local Democracy Editor·NZ Herald·
14 mins to read


WARNING: This story deals with the issue of suicide and may be distressing.

Ziporah Huirama never had a chance.

In 1992, at age 3, she was sexually abused by a member of the church her mother belonged to.

It was to be a trauma she would never fully recover from, compounded by more than a decade of state care where she was bounced between institutions, kept from her whānau, over-medicated, secluded, neglected, and allegedly raped.

Her nightmare ended when she

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